According to the university, this is to allow for further investigations into the matter.
In a release issued yesterday in Accra and signed by Stella Amoah, Director of Public Affairs, the university said it placed great importance on issues of sexual harassment and misconduct, and therefore condemned any of such acts.
“The Business and Executive Committee of the university has taken a decision to interdict Prof Ransford Gyampo and Dr Paul Kwame Butakor, the two lecturers featured in the documentary to allow for further investigations into the matter. In line with university regulations, the two will be invited by the Anti-Sexual harassment Committee in the next few days to assist with further investigations into the BBC documentary,” it stated.
“We would like to state emphatically that the University of Ghana does not and will not shield any employee or student to have engaged in sexual harassment or misconduct. No member of the university is considered above the law,” it added.
It went on to assure all members of the university community, including students, employees, our stakeholders and the public that it would continue to actively fight against sexual harassment/misconduct and other acts of indiscipline.
Earlier, a committee set up by the University of Ghana to look into the allegations had indicated the allegations lacked evidence.
The Anti-Sexual Harassment Committee chaired by Dr. Margaret Amoakohene kicked against the allegations against the two senior lecturers by the BBC.
Prof. Ransford Gyampo and Dr. Paul Butakor were captured on BBC Africa Eye tape proposing love to undercover journalists who posed as students.
Prof. Gyampo, a political science lecturer, is also the Head of European Studies at the University of Ghana.
He has, however, denied allegations that he sexually harassed female students at the university, and threatened to sue BBC.
Former Student Speaks
Meanwhile, a former student of UG, Dela Goldheart, has accused Prof. Gyampo of tormenting her life on campus after she rejected his love proposal.
She said on several occasions he invited her over to his house to cook “okro soup” for him, and sensing there was a hidden agenda, she refused.
But she indicated Prof. Gyampo kept pestering her and her refusal made him frustrate her over her long essay which she could not complete as a result. She said Prof. Gyampo was her long essay supervisor.
“I didn’t think I will narrate this story in public this soon with a name tagged. I knew I was going to get justice and ensure that other women’s and girls’ education are not threatened because of men who cannot keep their zips closed,” she wrote.
“But here we are. I know what I am about to do is a bit risky for my future, but I also know this is a good time to say something. I was not going to talk about this until I become a powerful woman who can protect myself. But this week’s happenings have forced me to say something,” she added.
“My hope is that, by sharing my story today, the University of Ghana, Ghana, and the world would be more assured that lecturers like Prof. Gyampo need to be removed from the higher education system if women are to have equal opportunity in advancing their education programmes,” she said.
“In 2010, I was a freshly admitted student to Ghana’s biggest university, the University of Ghana, to read Political Science, my dream programme. I was super excited, and that meant that attending every lecture was a must for me,” she noted in an article.
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