The National Youth Authority has taken a swipe at the police for what it describes as unjust treatment meted out to law students during a protest yesterday, Monday, October 7 2019.
A statement issued by the Authority and signed by its Chief Executive Officer Sylvester Tetteh out-rightly condemned the conduct of the police.
Law students in the country following recent mass failures in the law examinations have been at the forefront of advocating for an overhaul of the system, particularly, reforms in legal education.
They stormed the streets of the capital on Monday, protesting the recent mass failures and their quest to present a petition to the president at the Jubilee House was met with fierce resistance from the police, resulting in some of the students sustaining injuries.
The NYA in the statement said ‘’ As the statutory body charged with the mandate of championing the welfare of the youth of the country, the NYA finds the conduct of the police to these innocent young people who were only engaged in a democratic exercise in pursuit of their educational right as most unfortunate. Democratic policing demands that even if the students had defied the rules of engagement, the police ought to act professionally to bringing them to order rather than resorting to brutal force on unarmed and non-violent protestors’’.
Read the full statement below:
NYA CONDEMNS UNJUST TREATMENT OF LAWFUL PROTESTORS BY GHANA POLICE
The National Youth Authority (NYA) condemns without reservation the brutalities meted out by the police to some law students who were embarking on a peaceful demonstration against the recent mass failure recorded in the entrance exams to the Ghana School of Law among other concerns, and demanding for immediate reforms to legal education in the country.
As the statutory body charged with the mandate of championing the welfare of the youth of the country, the NYA finds the conduct of the police to these innocent young people who were only engaged in a democratic exercise in pursuit of their educational right as most unfortunate. Democratic policing demands that even if the students had defied the rules of engagement, the police ought to act professionally to bringing them to order rather than resorting to brutal force on unarmed and non-violent protestors.
The Authority is hereby imploring our able-bodied security officials to exercise restraint, decorum and abide by the professional code of conduct governing the police service. And to the disgruntled youth, we say, the NYA shares in your concerns but pleads with you to calm down as the authorities take steps to address your legitinate concerns. It cannot be emphasized that legal education needs some drastic reforms to respond to the exigencies of time.
The NYA wishes to assure the youth of Ghana particularly the demonstrating students that it has taken significant interest in this matter, and shall soon engage all the relevant stakeholders to explore ways of finding lasting solutions to this systemic problem that continues to plaque legal education in the country.
Sylvester Tetteh
CEO, National Youth Authority
Source: BestNewsGH.com
