By Gabriel F.K. Musu
Harper City, Maryland County: Following three weeks of go-slow action by faculty of the W.V.S. Tubman University (TU) in Harper City, Maryland County, PUNCH has reliably gathered that students of TU will on March 20, 2023 stage a “Black Monday” protest action to compel the administration address those critical issues that have caused disruption of learning.
According to graduating senior C. Prince Elliott, reading environmental science, the teaching staff decided to put down their chalks since Monday, March 13, 2023 due to the lack of electricity to enable learning at TU. Elliott complained that the absence of electricity on the main campus is serious posing problems, especially for science students whose learning processes are aided by projectors which are run by electricity.
“Yesterday, when I went to class, there was no instructor for me. And so, this morning, we were called by the student government of TU to find out the reasons for the faculty’s refusal to attend classes. Some delegates from the student government, including myself, went to inquire from the faculty, and were informed that they had stopped teaching because of the lack of electricity. We also engaged the administration to see how best they can restore power so that classes can resume immediately.
“Administration promised to restore power on or before Thursday, but the students have warned that if administration fails to do so, they will stage a Black Monday protest this coming week,” Elliott informed PUNCH.
Further investigations into the TU crisis revealed that the Tubman University Staff Association started its go-slow action three weeks ago due to the failure of acting President Dr. Emmanuel Leon Sie-Wreh to honor a Memorandum of Understanding that promised increment in staff salaries, even though the TU staff had continuously engaged administration to address the issue, but to no avail.
The TU Staff Association then resorted to a go-slow strike action on the campus, calling on government’s intervention if classes must resume. Those engaged in the go-slow include the maintenance, security and administrative personnel of Tubman University.
The go-slow has left the campus of the University derelict and untidy, with dirt invading spaces; while bathrooms and latrines remain untidy and unsanitary due to the lack of maintenance.
“Students have no means to ease themselves, so we are using the bushes for defecating,” a concerned student disclosed.
To compound the situation, there is no electricity on the campus because the branch of the staff association which controls electricity has refused to turn on the university generator.
Meanwhile, members of the TU Faculty Association (TUFA) have vowed not to return to work until some of the issues on the campus are resolved, especially as it relates to the provision of electricity on the main campus, as well as maintenance of the facilities.
In an attempt to ascertain from TU President Dr. Wreh what his administration is doing to resolve the crisis, PUNCH was informed that Dr. Wreh had left for Monrovia without addressing the concerns that continue to plague Tubman University.
The students are now calling on government and international partners to swiftly remedy the situation at the one of the country’s premier tertiary and technical institutions.
It can be recalled that President George Weah last year March appointed Dr. Emmanuel Leon Sie-Wreh as acting President of Tubman University, pending the vetting of candidates by the Board of Trustees for subsequent appointment of a new President of Tubman University.
Dr. Wreh’s appointment followed the resignation of TU’s embattled President Elliot Wreh Wilson.
