The authorities of the University of Ghana, Legon are investigating circumstances that led to a clash between some students of two residential halls of the university last Saturday.
According to an eyewitness, the clash began when a member of the Mensah-Sarbah Hall was allegedly attacked by some Commonwealth Hall students, leading to reprisal attacks by residents of the former.
The incident nearly marred the 2016 matriculation ceremony to formally welcome new students into the university.
The clash was triggered when a student of the Sarbah Hall was allegedly slapped by a student of the Commonwealth Hall for claiming that his hall was superior to that of the latter.
According to the eyewitness, news about the slap did not go down well with the students of Sarbah Hall who, he claimed, retaliated by attacking some residents of the Commonwealth Hall.
In the process, a Toyota Corolla parked in front of Sarbah Hall was set ablaze.
It took the intervention of personnel from the Ghana National Fire Service to put out the flames.
The Legon Police were also called in to ensure law and order on the campus.
There has not been any arrest in connection with the disturbance.
Later at the matriculation ceremony, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Professor Ebenezer Oduro Owusu, stated that the authorities of the university were going to investigate the incident to ensure that culprits were duly punished.
He warned the matriculants to avoid such behaviour on campus because anyone found engaged in unlawful acts would be sacked.
Prof. Owusu said 40,435 students applied for admission to the university for the 2016/17 academic year, saying that only 25,295 applicants, comprising 20,621 undergraduates and 3,691 graduate students, gained admission to the various campuses of the university.
He said out of the number, 7,611 undergraduate and 2,940 graduate students had successfully registered.
According to Prof. Owusu, the university also received 3,855 applications from international students from China, India, Italy, Germany, France, South Korea and some African countries, out of which it was able to offer admission to 761 undergraduates and 229 graduate students.
He advised the students to strive for excellence by studying diligently to develop critical and analytical minds.
He also urged them to be disciplined by behaving responsibly.
The acting Registrar, Mr Enoch A. Amartey, administered the Matriculation Oath to confer membership status on the new students, in line with Article 31 of the University of Ghana Act 2010, Act 806.
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