By Alex Boye
One of Ghana’s premier university, Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), has seen massive decrease in student enrollment in recent times for both graduate and undergraduate admissions respectively.
The Institute, established in 1961 has over 10,000 student population as at the last count in 2015, and enrollment kept increasing every Academic year, until recently where there has been a massive reduction in enrolment.
Flawless information gathered by New Crusading GUIDE indicates that the Institute, which has over the years been the envy of most people, could collapse if swift intervention is not made.
This development, according to information, is due to the fall in the admission level of students into Post Graduate and Graduate departments of the Institution.
It is alleged that the school has recorded the lowest ever post and undergraduate admissions this year because the school does not have Hostel facilities to be able to contain the number of applicants who have shown interest to pursue their educational career at the institute, especially at the undergrad level.
The inability of GMPA to build hostel facilities which will enable its management be able to admit more students, is because of the fact that the institution is having challenges with land acquisition.
Speaking to some students on condition of strict anonymity, they indicated that they would have loved to be at the Hostel but the GIMPA has no such facility hence, they are forced to come to school from outside campus.
The students who also admitted to the low admission this year, noted that the situation could have been different if the school has Hostel facilities.
Interestingly, the fallen admissions has become a headache to the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo who attempted forming an investigation team but was stopped by the board chairman of the institution, Asante Bediatuo.
The board chairman was reported to be in every board meeting but could not rectify the situation and now planning of forming his own committee to investigate the low level of undergraduate applicants and admissions into the school.
The vast decrease in student enrollment is mainly due to an alleged Land Litigation which the school is currently battling out with the Management of KOANS Estate Ltd. a private land development and estate company.
The parcels of land, this paper has established, could have been used to build Hostel facilities for students but due to the litigation, the school is unable to utilize the land.
The Land litigation, according to information, has also affected the financial status of the nation’s university and it would be appropriate if the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo set up his own committee to save the school form collapse.
The institution has always been in the news for its failure to settle the authorities of KOANS Estates and Construction Limited.
GIMPA has over the years been in debt to KOANS Estates and Construction Limited after it failed to honour its side of a bargain, despite express orders from a High Court.
The University however succeeded in overturning the Ruling of the High Court at the Supreme Court.
In the Appeals Court Judgment, the Court directed that KOANS Building Solutions performs its obligation under the 10th January, 2014 Agreement by delivering to GIMPA contiguous land of 1,000 acres free from all encumbrances including but not limited to the clearing of squatters on the land, which investigations have revealed, have been dully executed.
Meanwhile, KOANS Estates and Construction Limited has taken the matter to the Supreme Court where the University is still pursuing the matter at the Supreme Court.
But the question people are asking is, at whose expense is GIMPA litigating after paying about half of the money involved in the purchase of the said land to KOANS Estates?
GIMPA purchased a thousand acre plot of land from Koans Building Solutions to be paid over a period of six years.
The total cost of the over 4000 plots of land is Twenty Four Million Ghana Cedis (GHc 24m).
The Rector, Philip Ebow Bondzi-Simpson, and the Council Chairman, Nana Kofi Asante Bediatuo, decided to halt payment starting from March 2018.
Having exhausted all avenues to retrieve the money for the month of March and sensing foul play, Koans Building Solution proceeded to Court to seek judgment to compel the defaulting party to pay up.
On June 13, 2018, Justice of the High Court, Koforidua, and His Lordship Mac Kogyapwah gave judgement in favour of the developer, compelling GIMPA to pay the March instalment and additional One Hundred and Eighty Ghana Cedis representing interest accrued over the period of three months non-payment.
Students of the school are however not comfortable at the loss as to why the Rector would take a decision that will put needless financial burden on the institution.
According to some educationists, GIMPA cannot undertake undergraduate courses without integrating Allied Sciences hence the decision to purchase a land to build hostel facilities and expand so as to accommodate undergraduates is in the right direction and the University must pursue that.
They said without undergraduate students, the university would collapse in no time if care is not taken.
Many people however believe, that GIMPA is currently being run as a family entity under its Board Chairman, Asante Bediatuo; a situation they indicated is detrimental to the growth of the university.
Background;
In the year 2014, the management of GIMPA in response to the oversubscription of their undergraduate programs and the extra burden placed on the current campus, due to huge student population, decided to set up a dedicated campus for undergraduate programs so that the main GIMPA Campus can be used for management level programs.
With the new arrangement, GIMPA is most likely to be one of the biggest institution for undergraduate programs in the country having carved the niche for itself as the foremost and most credible institution for public administration and management programs over the years.
GIMPA has campuses in Accra, Tema, Takoradi and Kumasi.
All efforts by the media to get Mr. Rami Baiti, the Corporate Affairs Director of the Institute to speak to the issue has proven futile.
