Margaret Amoakohene, chairperson
of the anti-sexual harassment committee of the University of Ghana (UG), says
there is no evidence that two of its lecturers seen in the sex-for-grades video
documentary slept with their alleged victims.
Yaw Gyampo, a professor of
political science, and Paul Butakor, a lecturer at the college of education,
were seen soliciting sex from students in a 13-minute video documentary
released by the BBC Africa Eye on Monday.
Boniface Igbeneghu, a lecturer
and former sub-dean of the faculty of arts at the University of Lagos (UNILAG),
was also caught on camera sexually harassing an undercover reporter who posed
as a 17-year-old admission seeker in the institution.
Amoakohene was quoted as saying
though she agrees that the lecturers’ behaviour was unacceptable and should be
investigated, there is no evidence that they slept with any student.
According to Citi News, she said
the allegations could only be justified in a case where lecturers were caught
having illicit affairs with their students and awarding them marks that they do
not deserve or marking them down because they refused their advances.
“If you look at the transcript
that they added, there is no evidence of sex for grade. I agree that the
lecturers misbehaved and so you will discuss these as unacceptable behaviours
that should be investigated but there was no indication of sex for grades,”
Amoakohene was quoted to have said.
“In one case, it was about the
national service placement. Who needs grades at national service? She completed
and she was looking for placement.
“In the other case according to
the transcript, the lady approached him and said she wanted him to be a mentor.
She actually confirmed she wasn’t his student but asked that he mentors her. So
where is the grade involved in this?
“You are able to discuss grades
and sex when you find a lecturer who is dating his own students, and either
unnecessarily giving them grades that they don’t deserve or marking them down
because they have refused your advances. But in the two cases that are cited, I
don’t see sex for grades.”
Isaac Agyemang, president of UG
student representative council, (SRC), was said to have advised students who
are victims of sexual harassment to cooperate with ongoing investigations.
“As it stands now, these are
allegations that have come up. Until they are proven guilty our remarks will be
speculative,” Agyemang was quoted to have said.
“But all these people captured in
the video will duly be investigated within the remits of the University of
Ghana. Our fingers are crossed as an SRC so any student who has been a victim
shouldn’t shy away from the SRC.”
Gyampo said he would sue the BBC
over the sex-for-grades documentary. He also said the documentary could not
establish anything against him.
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