THE Regional Director of African Coalition for Academic Freedom (ACAF), Professor Appiagyei-Atua, has referred to as on the media to advertise and defend educational freedom in Ghanaian Universities.
Educational freedom is a elementary idea in increased schooling that permits students, researches, and academia to debate and disseminate information with none censorship.
Talking at a media-training workshop in Accra, Professor Appiagyei-Atua emphasised the significance of understanding academic freedom, an idea that was essential for each lecturers and journalists.
The workshop, which was on theme: ‘Advocating for Academic Freedom.’
In attendance have been representatives from Ghana Journalism Affiliation (GJA), Ghana Unbiased Broadcasters Affiliation (GIBA), and Personal Newspapers and On-line Information Publishers Affiliation of Ghana (PRINPAG).
“Educational freedom is not only about universities, it’s concerning the freedom to conduct analysis, disseminate data, and specific opinions with out worry of censorship or retribution,” he confused.
He once more highlighted that Academic freedom enabled students to pursue data with out worry, saying that “When the liberty of students is infringed upon, it undermines the idea of democracy in our society.”
Mr Zakariah Tanko, a lecturer from College of Media Arts and Communication (UniMAC), emphasised the necessity to promote educational freedom in Ghana.
He famous that, “educational freedom shouldn’t be absolute however relatively include tasks, reminiscent of adhering to skilled ethics and respecting public order.”
Mr Tanko highlighted the significance of institutional autonomy, permitting universities to find out their very own standards for admission, governance, and educational work.
He cited examples of violations of educational freedom, together with authorities interference in college admissions and censorship of analysis findings.
“Generally, authorities our bodies intrude within the admission course of of upper establishments by what we name “PROTOCOL” to unqualified candidates which is a menace to educational freedom,” he famous.
Mr Tanko emphasised the necessity for protections, reminiscent of tenure, to safeguard lecturers employment and freedom to precise their opinions.
Moreover, he mentioned the position of the state in respecting, defending, and fulfilling academic freedom.
Furthermore, he underlined that governments had an obligation to offer services and funding to allow universities to perform successfully, whereas additionally stopping third-party violations and punishing those that infringed on educational freedom.
ACAF is an organisation which champions the rights of members of the tutorial community on the African continent
BY RAYMOND APPIAH-AMPONSAH
