The Electricity Company of Ghana cut power supply two weeks ago because the school owes the company about two million Ghana cedis.
Students have come under persistent attack especially at night when they go out to buy food or have their phones charged elsewhere.
Though figures are not readily available on incidents of attack recorded so far, students say life on campus is uncomfortable as criminals keep terrorizing them.
“Sometimes, a student will go out to charge his phone and in the course of coming back to campus, he gets robbed by armed robbers so we are pleading with the government”, laments an anonymous student leader.
The situation has brought academic work to a standstill, as all activities in laboratories, lecture and residential halls cease.
Authorities say they will be compelled to close the school down if the situation persists for up to a month, having already spent over 7, 000 Ghana cedis over the two weeks to power emergency generators.
Acting Registrar, Abraham Annan Adjei, tells Nhyira FM life on campus is hell.
“Now we have automated everything, so without electricity, nothing works. If it stays like this, in a month we have to close down this thing [polytechnic] down”.
It is the third time this year that the ECG has had to cut power supply to the polytechnic over unpaid bills.
The National Council for Technical Education has over the years paid utility bills for polytechnics across the country.
Though government directive to metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies and state agencies to foot their own bills appears to exempt public educational institutions, it is yet to be followed.
Meanwhile, some students are planning to hit the streets to protest government’s failure to address the power situation on campus.
President of Liberty Hall, Daniel Amofa Siaw, says the intended action could have dire consequences, though he indicates leadership is trying to calm the students down.
Source: adomfmonline
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