By Our Reporter | Smart News Liberia
MONROVIA – The Vanguard Student Unification Party (SUP) has called on thousands of University of Liberia students to assemble at the Capitol Hill Campus on August 25, demanding the reopening of the university and an overhaul of what it describes as years of administrative neglect, deteriorating infrastructure and government failure to adequately support public higher education.
In a statement issued Tuesday, August 4, SUP said the approaching August 25 resumption date cannot resolve what it described as a deeper institutional crisis confronting Liberia’s premier public university.
The student organization accused the University of Liberia Administration, its Board of Trustees and the Government of Liberia of failing to address longstanding financial, administrative and infrastructural problems that, according to SUP, have made normal academic activities increasingly difficult.
SUP’s planned mobilization comes amid continuing concerns over the university’s operating conditions and the potential impact of labor-related disputes on the academic calendar.
The organization said thousands of students continue to face inadequate facilities, unsanitary bathrooms, limited laboratory equipment, insufficient instructional materials, poor internet connectivity, inadequate security and the absence of reliable campus transportation.
According to SUP, these conditions disproportionately affect students from low-income families who depend on the University of Liberia as one of the country’s principal avenues for affordable higher education.
The group accused the government and university administration of treating public education as a secondary priority and warned that simply publishing an academic calendar without resolving the institution’s underlying problems would not restore normal academic life.
SUP said the crisis could affect more than 25,000 students and criticized what it described as a prolonged dispute involving the University of Liberia Faculty Association, the University of Liberia Staff Association, the Board of Trustees and the government.
The organization is therefore calling on students, progressive groups and other supporters of public education to converge at the Capitol Hill Campus on August 25 to demand what it calls the immediate reopening and restoration of accountable leadership at the university.
But SUP’s statement goes beyond the university crisis.
The student organization has also sharply criticized the Government of Liberia’s handling of 12 jurors connected to the trial involving former Finance Minister Samuel D. Tweah Jr. and his co-defendants.
The 12 jurors were recently released from the Monrovia Central Prison and referred to the Ministry of Justice for investigation. SUP argues that their subsequent investigation could create the appearance of retaliation against citizens who performed constitutional jury service.
The organization questioned what it considers an uneven approach to the treatment of jurors, arguing that selective investigations could undermine public confidence in the independence of Liberia’s jury system.
SUP maintains that jurors must be able to perform their civic responsibilities without fear of detention, intimidation, investigation or prosecution simply because their decisions do not satisfy powerful interests.
However, the student group’s position raises an important distinction between legitimate investigation and unlawful intimidation. Any investigation involving jurors would have to be assessed on its legal basis and the specific conduct under investigation rather than presumed to be retaliatory.
SUP nevertheless wants the Ministry of Justice to discontinue what it describes as investigations lacking a clear legal basis and to ensure that no action is taken against jurors as punishment for carrying out their duties.
The organization has also escalated its criticism of Criminal Court “C”, demanding the immediate dismissal of Judge Ousman Feika.
SUP said public confidence in the impartial administration of justice has been seriously eroded and accused the government of engaging in actions that could undermine judicial independence and constitutional liberties.
The demand represents a significant escalation in the student group’s intervention in the ongoing judicial controversy.
SUP warned that continued actions it considers violations of judicial independence and constitutional rights could trigger what it described as broad-based, peaceful and lawful democratic resistance.
The organization insists that its planned action is intended to defend public education, judicial independence, the rule of law and constitutional rights.
The August 25 mobilization could therefore become more than a protest over the University of Liberia’s reopening. It could bring together longstanding student grievances over infrastructure and governance with growing concerns about the treatment of jurors and the broader administration of justice.
For the University of Liberia, the challenge is increasingly difficult to ignore. An academic calendar can establish dates for classes, but it cannot by itself resolve questions surrounding infrastructure, funding, working conditions, transportation, security and the institutional stability required for effective learning.
Likewise, the controversy surrounding the jurors presents the government and Judiciary with a separate test of public confidence. While legitimate investigations must not be obstructed, citizens who serve as jurors must also be protected from retaliation for performing their constitutional responsibilities.
With SUP now calling students into the streets on August 25, the government and university authorities face growing pressure to demonstrate that the concerns raised about public education and judicial accountability are being addressed through credible, transparent and lawful processes.
