The Lofa County University students leadership has rubbished recent allegations against its president regarding sale of textbooks.
A press statement responding to a recent article in local newspapers quoted, the Student Council president, Stephen Siazia, as saying, “We have come to debunk this falsehood that is being propagated on the electronic media.”
Student Siazia said the newspapers articles were the handy works of Mr. Kermoh Kamara, an expediter at the Lofa County University who highlighted several allegations against University’s Dr. Isaac Podah.
He said among the many allegations what caught their attention most are his allegation that say “Students at LCU are up in arms over what is described as a coercive and exploitative policy introduced by the university’s president Podah. The policy requires students to purchase textbooks he authored as a precondition for enrollment and that US$25 is a requirement for enrollment at the institution.”
Responding to the allegations chronologically, the student leader said Mr. Kemakoh Kamara, the expediter, spread falsehoods believing that he might be waging a proxy war for suspended officials of Lofa County University whose hands he has used to exploit the university.
The student leader indicated that Kamara has complained to the University Board of Trustees, the Civil Service Agency, the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission, and other institutions he believes can assist him, and the investigation is on the verge of conclusion.
“Why doesn’t the expediter, who became a millionaire overnight, wait for the results of the ongoing investigation into his complaint against Dr. Podah? However, initial explanations regarding his allegations against Dr. Podah will be provided, while detailed responses will follow upon submitting findings from the ongoing investigations,” student Siazia explained.
He said contrary to the claims that students at LCU are up in arms, the student leader said, “The LCU campus is very peaceful, and students are not in arms or willing to be in arms over a ‘policy of purchasing textbooks’ authored by our president.”
He explained that it is untrue that they are paying US$25 for books as a requirement for registration or enrollment.
Facts about the books:
The president said there is a project called the Lofa University Dollar Rally Campaign ‘Using one stone to kill two birds.’
He indicated that it implies that all sons and daughters of Lofa, both in and out of Liberia, should academically impact the life of a child by buying a book (civics book)for a needy child or children.
He said some of the proceeds from the text books will go to the university for classroom modernization, and 0.50 cents for students’ projects on campus.
Siazia said the dollar rally project is in two phases stating that phase one starts with the current university students while phase two, the university will contact stakeholders to buy books for grade school students.
He said for what they know as students, stakeholders, including district commissioners and the County Education Officer, have been informed about the initiative.
The books were not imposed on the students because it was mentioned during Dr. Podah’s speech at his inauguration ceremony, and discussed with the students in the peace hut; the Faculty Senate and the Board of Trustees accepted and endorsed the books due to its unique intent. No student has been denied enrollment because he or she refused to purchase the book.
What’s the rightful procedure of the book project
The student leader said at the University’s president induction ceremony, it was mentioned that it will not be good to focus on and depend solely on government allocations for the development of the University.
He furthered that if the Lofians want to see development at the Lofa County University, they should consider a dollar rally campaign every fiscal year to augment the government’s allocation.
He announced to the public that his administration will ask you to buy a book, and some of the proceeds would go to modernizing classrooms and student projects at the University.
He added, “With this proclamation, many at the graduation ceremony welcomed and appreciated the book project idea.”
Discussion with the students under the Peace Hut:
The student leader said they were not left out of the decision making process.
Siazia indicated that after the close of the semester break in 2024, Dr. Podah mentioned in his discussion with the student body about the book project, which was intended to modernize the classroom and to help students’ leadership with projects.
“The student body never resisted this discussion”Siazia intoned.
He stressed that the interim student leadership and representatives of the various student political parties discussed and accepted the book project with a genuine request to the administration, that the books be purchased in two semesters and that was accepted by the LCU president, Dr. Podah.
Voted action by the faculty senate and the Board of Trustees:
The student leader said according to research they have done, the faculty senate reviewed and accepted the books as textbooks because they are used at both public and private universities in Liberia.
Another point was that it would generate extra revenue for the university. This decision by the faculty senate was taken to the board of trustees for action. After deliberating on the intent of the books’ usage, the board accepted and encouraged each member to buy the books. At present, some board members have bought the books.
The payment method:
The student leadership said, they in line with the student political parties, requested that, due to the economic hardship, the administration should allow the payment of the book to be made over two semesters (one year) and so it was accepted.
“This means the payment for the books will be made in six installments” he said.
However, the student leader in a strong warning said, “We are calling on Mr. Kamara, the overnight millionaire of the Lofa County University, to stop propagating falsehoods about us, the populace; spreading misconceptions about us as students and the institution has the propensity to undermine the peace and development of our beloved Lofa County University. Should we have issues with Podah’s administration, we know how to handle them. We are not students who resolve issues with protest, but rather students who resolve issues of high concern through mitigation and peaceful dialogue. We don’t need your advocacy today because you were never in the students’ interest during your time as de facto president.”
