THE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON FLUSHES OUT RUMOURS ON FEE INCREMENT

The University of Ghana has come out with a justification concerning the earlier claims that their academic user fee for the next academic year has been increased above the 15% tertiary institutions fees review as directed by Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC).

According to the university’s management, the increment is in line with rates approved by Parliament and announced through the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission.

Thus, it is necessary, in the opinion of the University of Ghana, to clarify the facts and dispel rumours that have been spread regarding adjustments to the university’s academic facility user fees for the 2022–2023 academic year in order to avoid confusion and to prevent our students and other stakeholders from being misled.

The University’s justification to all stakeholders is provided below;

ADJUSTMENTS IN ACADEMIC FACILITY USER FEES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA

1. In the 2019/2020 academic year, public universities, including the University of Ghana, were given approval by Parliament to increase their fees by 5% cumulatively based on the 2016/2017 approved fees. On 27th January 2020, the University received the approved and gazetted fees (Ref. RMERD/NTPU/12/19/MDAS/FEES/5) from the Ministry of Finance through the then National Commission of Tertiary Education (NCTE). This was in the second semester of the 2019/2020 academic year after the University had already announced fees for that academic year. By this time, it was too late for the University to implement the new fees.

• Though the gazetted approved fees for the 2019/2020 academic year were found to be higher than what the University had earlier requested students to pay for the academic year, University Management decided to suspend the implementation of the new fees until the 2020/2021 academic year. This was to spare students from a fee increase in the middle of the 2019/2020 academic year.

• 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, therefore, 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 13th December 2022, the University announced that due to the increasing cost of operations, it had become necessary for the University to implement 2019/2020 approved fees. The statement also noted that the fee schedules published at the time were provisional, and that amounts to be paid would be updated once fees for the 2022/2023 academic year were approved by Parliament.

• On 21st December 2022, the University received a letter from GTEC dated 16th December 2022, communicating that Parliament had approved an upward review of academic fees by “…15% of the last approved rates”.

• It is important to note that the only previously approved fees were those gazetted in 2019/2020 (Ref. RMERD/NTPU/12/19/MDAS/FEES/5) and not the subsidized rates the University had to implement due, initially, to the late timing of the fee announcement in January 2020, and later by concessions made due to COVID and pleas from student leadership.

• In line with this, the University of Ghana has adjusted fees for the 2022/2023 academic year upwards by 15% based on the gazetted approved fees for the 2019/2020 academic year. Management, therefore, assures students, parents, and all stakeholders that fees charged for the 2022/2023 academic year are legal and duly based on approved fee levels as authorized by Parliament.

In its final statement, the university said that it has given students flexible fee payment terms because it understands the challenging economic conditions the nation is currently experiencing. For instance, 50% of the user fee for the academic facility is required to register a student for the first semester, with the remaining balance due the following semester. Furthermore, students who are genuinely struggling financially are encouraged to apply for assistance through the university’s Office of Student Financial Aid.