According to a press release to clarify matters, management said the decision is in consonance with Section 9.3 of the Institute’s Undergraduate Academic Policies and Procedures.
It therefore said the students should find the deferment as an opportunity to retain their studentship.
“Management notification to students who fell foul of the above sections was to ensure that affected students do not lose their studentship. Deferment of the programme should therefore not be seen as a punishment but as an opportunity to retain studentship,” the release issued by the Public Affairs Unit on Wednesday, March 24 said.
It also indicated that payments made by students before the deferment will be credited to each student’s account.
The decision on Tuesday has generated controversy as students on Wednesday, March 24 massed up at the old campus in protest.
Clad in red and black, the students said the decision is imprudent and without a human face.
But management, in the press release, said the decision was reached “after careful consideration to ensure that the academic processes required to keep the school running are upheld”.
It explained that towards the re-opening of schools for the 2020/2021 academic year, the calendar was published, pegging the deadline for registration to Saturday, December 26, 2020.
But this deadline had to be extended to Friday, January 8, 2021 after the president directed that all tertiary institutions reopen from Saturday, January 9.
It said in a quest to ensure that as many students as possible register for the academic year, the registration deadline was extended again to Wednesday, February 3.
This it continued was even taken to Thursday, February 25 as the final deadline with a minimum payment of 60 percent of the fees.
“The several deadline extensions resulted in an unprecedented 24-week registration window without any penalty payment.”
Management admitted that students’ registration constitute a vital part of the academic procedure.
By Emmanuel Kwame Amoh|3news.com|Ghana