A Senior Lecturer at University of Ghana (UG), Professor Ransford Gyampo, says fee increment by the University for this academic year is not more than 15 per cent as directed by the Government.
He said the University’s 15 per cent increment adjustment was attached to the fees of an earlier five per cent fee increment agreed by the Government in the 2019/2020 academic year, which the University did not implement then.
“The Government agreed that Universities could increase their fees by five per cent in the 2019/2020 academic year; however, we could not increase ours because we were getting to the end of the academic year. In the subsequent year, the student leadership pleaded with us on the increment, and we put it on hold.
“So, the current 15 per cent increment is calculated on Government’s approved fee increment figures in 2019/2020, which we could not implement then up till now,” he stressed.
Professor Gyampo made this clarification when he spoke with the Ghana News Agency on concerns raised by various stakeholders on the fee increment, with some saying it was more than the mandated 15 per cent.
He said the fees were justifiable to keep the University running and that they had instituted “flexible” payment terms for students to enable them to pay.
The payment terms include a 70 per cent or 50 per cent earlier payment beginning from the first semester of the academic year.
He added that the students could also discuss their payment terms with the management.
“Additionally, students with genuine financial difficulties are encouraged to apply to access support through the University’s Students Financial Aid Office. Management operates an open-door policy and has engaged student leadership on these issues,” he said.
The management of the University of Ghana earlier said the 15 per cent adjustment of fees for the 2022/2023 academic year was based on rates approved by Parliament and communicated through the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC).
The University Students Association of Ghana, in a statement on December 20, 2022, rejected the 15 per cent increment in fees for public universities approved by Parliament.
The Association said the upward adjustment would make access to education increasingly difficult.
The University assured students, parents, and all stakeholders that the fees charged for the 2022/2023 academic year were legal and duly based on approved fee levels as authorised by Parliament.
