Members of the Old Vandals Association in Parliament have called on the University of Ghana to abide by the laws of the country and reinstate continuing students into the hall. 

The Commonwealth Hall of the University of Ghana was to maintain its residential status for continuing students until the final determination of a case before the court.

This was according to an order from the Commercial Division of the High Court in Accra.

“The status quo of the residential status of all continuing students of Commonwealth Hall, University of Ghana should be maintained as it used to be before the 26th October 2022 decision was taken,” the order from the High Court stated.

“This Order is to last until the final determination of the case. I order accordingly,” it added.

However, the Commonwealth hall is yet to implement the order from the court.

Commenting on the matter on the floor of Parliament, Wednesday, 29 April 2023, the Ranking Member of the Education Committee of Parliament, Dr Clement Apaak said: “Our statement is a call on the University of Ghana to respect and abide by the law and reinstate continuing students of our legendary hall also known as Vandal city.” 

Dr Apaak noted the university’s refusal to enforce the order from the court.  

“To date this order has been flagrantly disregarded as though same was not granted and ordered. Since the granting of this order, the management of the University of Ghana has refused to act in accordance with the dictates of the order,” he noted.

He revealed that the university has rather put in place measures to frustrate the efforts of the students from drawing attention to their refusal to enforce the decision of the court.

He stated: “The Police and other allied security personnel have been employed by the management of Ghana to frustrate the efforts being made by the students to call attention to the management of the University by the court to reinstate them.

“As an institution of higher learning and especially as Ghana’s foremost university one would not expect less from the University of Ghana when it comes to the discipline where the law so recommends.”

They Old Vandals Association in Parliament described the refusal of the university to enforce the order as “unacceptable.”

 “The continuous refusal of the management of the University of Ghana to reinstate the affected students as ordered by the court is unacceptable, unlawful and must not be countenanced,” Dr Apaak stressed.

They, therefore, called on the Speaker and all well-meaning Ghanaians to “impress upon the university of Ghana to do the needful by respecting the laws of the land.”  

Eight residents of the Commonwealth Hall, filed an application for interlocutory injunction on 16 January 2023, to prevent authorities of the hall from implementing their policy to allow only level 100 students of the university to be residents of the hall.

Per the decision taken by the university’ new residential policy, continuing students are supposed to occupy other halls apart from the Commonwealth and Mensah Sarbah halls to make way for first year and graduate students.

However, the order from the court meant the decision cannot be implemented.