Accountability in Student Leadership

The National Union of Ghana Students of old, has contributed immensely to the Educational, Political, social, and Economic development of Ghana. The contribution of NUGS to the development of mother Ghana is so great so that the history of Ghana cannot be written without mention of NUGS. In addition, almost all Leaders of this country have passed through the mills of NUGS knowingly or unknowingly. And so the Accountability of NUGS affects not only the student fraternity of Ghana, Africa and the World but also to our National and International Politics. Currently, the Secretary General of the All African Students Union (AASU) is from NUGS, A great number of our Ministers of State have drunk from the big breast of NUGS, Innovations like the GETFund, The Student Loan Trust Fund (SLTF) and other very important political reforms have been machinated by the Union, and so there is a need to ensure that NUGS will work again

The Discipleship tools define accountability as a check and balance system to protect us from harm from ourselves and others. We do this by being open to what we are thinking and doing so we can receive encouragement and reproof, when needed.

TYPES OF ACCOUNTABILITY·         Christian Accountability·         Political Accountability·         Ethical Accountability (Within a corporate organization)·         Administrative Accountability (For Civil Servants)·         Individual Accountability in Organizations·         Academic/Educational Accountability (For Students, Parents and School Authorities)·         Financial Accountability·         Social Accountability, etc.

Today, I want to sum all these into what I prefer to call Leadership Accountability, which is a mechanism put in place voluntarily to render to the people we serve, the product of the services rendered to them, the need to continue or discontinue the rendering of such services, and take the necessary corrective measures which is referred to in management as Controlling.

REASONS FOR ACCOUNTABILITY

1.       Lightens the load. You will still have to do the work, but you'll have someone to help with the mental and emotional struggles. That is a major benefit because some of the biggest challenges reside in your thoughts and feelings. A good accountability partner will understand yet inspire you to overcome difficulties.
2.      Keeps you on track. When you have a form of accountability then it is easier to stay on task with your work. If you report back to your accountability partner with the wrong type of results he will see that. He can make you aware of the discrepancies so that you can make the necessary adjustments. We tend to get so deep into our work that we don't see when we have strayed off track. An accountability partner is more removed from the fray. It is easier for him to recount what your original intentions were in order to keep you on target.3.      Compels you to honor your word. Having accountability forces you to do what you said you were going to do. It gives you a reason to do the daily tasks that your goal requires. Just knowing that you are going to report to someone is enough to make us keep at until we get the work done. We don't want to say, "I know I told you I was going to do this but I did not do it." If we know we are going to be held accountable then we do it. We don't let ourselves off the hook. We know that there is someone else involved and we don't want to let them down. (Anthony D. Carter)4.      For Rewards and Punishments. Accountability is holding that person's actions up for inspection and, if they are found to be "out of line" as regards what is allowed, then that person is subject to penalties for those actions that were outside the law, and if they have performed creditably well, then rewards may be given.

WHAT ROLE SHOULD NUGS PLAY IN ENSURING ACCOUNTABILITY

By reason of brevity, I we shall discuss four (4) important issues in ensuring accountability in our beloved student fraternity.1.      Selection of Leadership2.      Administration3.      Policies4.      Education and Training

1.      LEADERSHIP

Fortunately, the leadership of NUGS is elected by student leaders who have been carefully elected or appointed in accordance with local campus constitutions by respected students at the Tertiary and Secondary levels respectively. This should have reflected a very intellectual electoral college who should be able to interrogate candidates and choose the best of the best, who have been tried, tested, and approved by different levels of our student leadership ladder and proven to be competent and efficient in the discharge of the immense workload of student leadership in Ghana.However Mr. Chairman, permit me to say that, for some time now, I have been continuously disappointed by the quality of personnel elected by student leaders in Ghana to handle the affairs of NUGS. It is disappointing to see Ghanaian students needing help all over the world and having no strong leaders or strong institution in NUGS to stand firm and fight the defense of the defenseless. However, there have been some exceptional leaders who in my opinion, have been exceptional in the discharge of their duties as student leaders.The fact is if the personnel elected/appointed to handle the mantle of student leadership are not of the required ‘quality’ then getting the work done efficiently and effectively will become a herculean task.I believe that, the first agent of accountability for student leadership is the one who has the power to vote. Therefore, dear future leaders, and partners to national development, when you go to the pools to vote leaders for our beloved NUGS as well as SRC, Local NUGS, or Hall executives; do not be blinded by petty-partisan-pleasures, or of family, old school associations, or campus of affiliation, but rather, the competence of the personnel must come first, so that in case aspirants have the same level of competence, then these considerations may be made.

2.      ADMINISTRATION

NUGS should be able to lead the national student front by example, in this regard; there is a need to run NUGS as a professional organization rather than an association of boys and girls having fun. By this, I mean;1.      NUGS must have an office administrator to see to the day-to-day running of the Union whose office should be under the authority of the coordinating secretary; since NUGS is a going concern. Since I came to NUGS we have always had issues with the handing over of adequate documentation to ensure continuity and so we always have to start from the scratch again2.      There should be a properly trained Accountant in Business to supervise or support the professional preparation of financial  accounts to meet international standards, and that could help NUGS in attracting international sponsorship3.      There should also be a professional accountant in practice (An auditor) either external or internal to supervise the annual audit board to professionally audit the accounts of NUGS.4.      Also, in addition to national officers, there should also be appointed other leaders (For National Service for other offices like)a.       A Research Directorate, to be headed by a professional researcher as Research Directorb.      Transport officer to handle our transportation issuesc.       Accommodation officer to be in charge of a successive agenda to getting a permanent office and accommodation for National officers, when they are on national duty.d.      Director for Early Childhood Educatione.       Director for Basic Educationf.       Director for Secondary Educationg.      Director for Tertiary Education to coordinate the affairs of GUPS, USAG, ‘GNUPS’ PUSAG, and other relevant student groups in Ghanah.      Director for international education, for students on international scholarshipi.        Director for Public Affairs who shall act as director for the Press and Information Secretary who is the Minister for Communication for NUGSWhen this done, then we can convince corporate Ghana as well as other players in academia that we are poised as a strong institution and serve as an example to the Ghanaian student leadership fraternity.

3.      POLICIES

The following policies must also be put in place to ensure that the Union is standing on its good feet1.      The financial procedures manual must be updated, and as part of the manual, member institutions must present to NUGS every year its budget/financial statement at the beginning and close of the year to be certified by the appropriate School authority. When this is done, the issue as to overstating or understating the number of students will be a thing of the past and so the calculation of dues will become easy.2.      A resolution must be passed by member institutions in Good Standing whose dues pass through the school authorities to permit NUGS to receive their dues from source that is from the University itself. This will ensure that the Union is financially sound to undertake its obligations.3.      National Officers should insist that officers on National Service must be posted to NUGS because the workload is very high and requires full time officers to perform.

4.      EDUCATION AND TRAINING

NUGS should organize accountability and leadership workshops regularly for students and student leaders to enhance the quality of personnel in order to ensure accountability in the National student front.

CONCLUSION

Just like an independent state, students in Ghana have given their sovereignty to NUGS, therefore ensuring accountability in the student front, shaping student leaders across the country to become better partners to national development should be a priority for NUGS. There is a need for NUGS to restructure, and prepare herself for the modern day global economy. I believe that the days of ‘aluta’ are long gone, and these days, the use of professional administrative skills is what aids the governance of any group; but it looks like NUGS has not metamorphosed to the current trend of doing things. I believe that for NUGS to remain relevant for a foreseeable future period, and not become a useless entity in three years, meticulous steps towards a proper administered NUGS must be taken.

Thank You.

Orchill Prince DavidNUGS Representative to the National Youth Authority Board0249774457/0203244855nationalunionofghanastudents@gmail.com