By Isaac Ato MENSAH
Accra- 21 November, 2018.
The University of Ghana (UG) has introduced a four-hour document request service – and it works!
But you will spend the whole day there if you want to prove its efficacy.
The usual 2 days, 3 days, one week or two weeks waiting period for documents is still there; nothing has changed except the cost per printed copy.
Going to the UG registry in pursuit of such documents is an uphill task –both literally and figuratively.
If you are not a millennial, I am sure you still have mixed feelings of the walk up and down the small antelope hill, Lɛɛgɔŋ – not hill of knowledge (Legɔŋ).
UG has not changed much surprisingly; traditions die hard, don’t they? It has its good and bad sides.
‘It’s the best that we have so despite its imperfections I’ll always come to Legon,’ said the most qualified among us as a group discussion centered on why we must always kiss the derrieres of registry staff before they attend seriously to already paid for services.
He concluded, ‘In this country you can always get what you want; it’s just about how you approach them. The rot is everywhere.’
I love walking up and down, to and fro UG, for the fitness it offers; you will never see any body burning rubbish on Legon main campus.
At the registry, we broke into several spontaneous discussion groups.
Students and former students changed groups depending on which discussion resonated with their concerns.
Our learned colleague, a medical doctor, concluded that unlike the rest of the Ghanaian society, UG’s bureaucratic system will always give you justice.
We tended to agree with him; we all had shared openly our frustrations.
We agreed that at Legon you can speak your mind without being victimised.
A member of the registry staff had fears this article could bring a backlash on them from senior management.
We agreed also that even if you initially felt victimised the bureaucratic procedure at UG could be accessed for due process and justice in the end will prevail.
‘You advertised 48 hours….from Wednesday to Friday…is it not 48 hours?
Meanwhile today is Monday and you’re telling me tomorrow!,’ demanded one former student at another place and time.
‘I’m also telling you what prevails here, not in advertisements. Look at the printer. Look at the photocopier. They’re not working.’
‘You’re protected by the four walls of the university,’ we were told by countless lecturers over many years.
This statement had several layers of meaning, one being freedom of speech and of expression.
So I must confess I enjoy it when registry staff are not intimidated by students/clients.
On my several errands, I saw that in front of a prominent building, a former male student had opened his zip and started urinating into the open gutter and foliage enveloping the building.
Another former student shouted at him: ‘This place is not a urinal’.
‘This is a bush, not a urinal, ‘ the culprit shouted back.
Uhmmm……the four walls of the university…. protecting you from anything and everything except libel and defamation.
A lady former student who had been sent by another student to collect some documents had waited the whole day so a bust up occurred.
‘You’ve advertised UG Pay but it doesn’t work,’ she flared. Others including registry staff had not heard of UG Pay.
‘Tell me about UG Pay,’ I took a seat by the lady. ‘I’m a journalist; I’m going to write about all that is happening here.’
‘You only pay online, but you come and walk through all the offices just like the others except that yours is supposed to be faster,’ she explained.
Eyes were now focused on me and the discussion became livelier.
The four walls of the university protects journalists – hurray!
Unfortunately the lady left us when she could no longer bear the delay.
‘Our ladies are less tolerant than us,’ someone offered.
I wondered if derriere kissing meant tolerance.
One registry staff made this call through writersghana.com: ‘We have asked the administration to get us more national service persons but they’re not even hearing us …….. We need assistants to help us speed up the work.’
To bring a thematic conclusion to the matter, I intoned; ‘INTEGRI PROCEDAMUS’!
This got everyone laughing. Our registry staff asked one former student to tell the meaning of the motto INTEGRI PROCEDAMUS. It was a struggle.
‘Proceed with integrity,’ said a former student.
‘Integrity in procedures,’ said another.
‘Okay, sing it,’ our vivacious registry staff changed the question. It was another wahala.
I started to sing the UG anthem on purpose with the sole aim of highlighting the gong gong beat that breaks into the lyrics.
We had some laughter and good reflections about our alma mater, about the state of affairs of our Ghana matter!
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