Ghana’s Minister for Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, has instructed the University of Ghana (UG) to comply with the 15 per cent increment in tertiary fees.
Adutwum met the management of UG on 5 January amid the recent accusations by the student body that the public universities had increased their fees beyond the 15 per cent threshold approved by the Parliament.
The meeting also saw the participation of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) and the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS).
“The Ministry has picked information, especially referencing the concerns that came from the student leadership that some of the universities are not complying with this directive and so consequently the Ministry has invited all the parties involved,” said Kwasi Kwarteng, Public Relations Officer, Ministry of Education.
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The University of Cape Coast, the University of Education, Winneba and the University of Mines and Technology have all resolved to comply with the 15 per cent of fees charged last academic year.
The management of the University of Ghana has however justified its decision declaring the board may challenge anyone who criticises the move in court.
“University of Ghana, for instance, they are not denying the fact that they have indeed usurped what Parliament has decided but they are giving us the justification explaining why they are unable to go by the directive of Parliament,” added said the Public Relations Officer.
According to the Ministry, UG was implementing between a 36 and 37 per cent increment of fees.
After last week’s meeting, Kwarteng said the Ministry would enforce the directive to ensure that public universities in the country did not charge more than the approved fee increment.
He finally stressed that the Ministry would ensure that students who had paid more than the 15 per cent increment would get a refund.
The University Students Association of Ghana (USAG) had previously resisted the 15 per cent increment in public universities’ fees for the 2022-2023 academic year.
In a statement released on 20 December 2022, USAG claimed the hike in fees would make access to education more difficult.
