The management of the University of Ghana has clarified the recent adjustments in the academic facility user fees for 2022/2023, explaining that the new fee is cumulative of the suspended implementation of fees which were approved in the 2019, 2020 and 2021 academic years.
The management of the university has been accused of adjusting fees more than the 15 percent recently approved by Parliament.
But in a statement dated January 2, 2023, signed and issued by the Registrar, Mrs Emelia Agyei-Mensah, the University of Ghana management explained that in 2020, “with the outbreak of COVID-19 in March 2020, coupled with its associated challenges, Management accepted a plea from the student leadership (SRC and GRASAG) to further suspend the implementation of the parliamentary approved and gazetted fees until the 2021/2022 academic year.”
In effect, the University of Ghana charged students subsidized fees for the 2019/2020, 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 academic years, rather than the approved rates.
Following all the necessary internal consultations and approval by the University Council, on December 13, 2022, the University announced that due to the increasing cost of operations, it had become necessary for the University to implement the 2019/2020 approved fees.
It said: “on 21st December, 2022, the University received a letter from GTEC [Ghana Tertiary Education Commission] dated 16th December, 2022, communicating that Parliament had approved an upward review of academic fees by …15% of the last approved rates”.
Per this, the management urged students and all stakeholders not to be misled into assuming that the new fees announced were in breach of the 15 percent approval granted by Parliament recently.
Rather, the 15 percent, adds up to the 5 percent approved in 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 academic years, whose implementation were all suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
SOURCE : GRAPHIC.COM.GH
