The University of Ghana has defended the increase in academic user fees it would be charging for the upcoming academic year starting in January 2023.
The school's administration claims that the "fees charged for the academic year 2022-2023 are legal and properly based on approved fee levels as permitted by Parliament."
This follows complaints from certain students that the increase's margin is intolerable because it exceeds the 15% approval granted by Parliament through the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC).
The University of Ghana has modified prices for the 2022–2023 academic year upward by 15% based on the gazetted approved costs for the 2019–2020 academic year, university authorities stressed in a statement.
GTEC ordered tertiary schools to increase prices for the upcoming academic year in all public universities by a maximum of 15% for the 2022–2023 academic year a few weeks ago.
However, there are claims that certain public tertiary schools are only charging around half the prices as they do now.
The University Students' Association of Ghana (USAG) has already opposed and called callous any attempts to ignore the Parliamentary directive.
Here is the complete rationale from UG management.
ADJUSTMENTS TO THE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA'S ACADEMIC FACILITY USER FEES
The University of Ghana considers it necessary to clarify the facts and dispel rumors that have been spreading about revisions to the university's academic facility user fees for the 2022–2023 academic year. Based on rates established by Parliament and announced through the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission, the University adjusts its fees (GTEC). We would want to clarify the following in order to avoid confusion and to prevent our students and other stakeholders from being misled:
1. Based on the approved fees for the 2016–2017 academic year, Parliament approved a 5% cumulative fee increase for public universities, including the University of Ghana, for the 2019–2020 academic year. The Ministry of Finance sent the University the approved and published fees (Ref. RMERD/NTPU/12/19/MDAS/FEES/5) on January 27, 2020, via the National Commission of Tertiary Education at the time (NCTE). The University had already released fees for the 2019–2020 academic year when this occurred in the second semester of that year. For the University to enact the additional fees at this point would have been too late.
2. Despite the fact that the gazetted approved prices for the 2019–2020 academic year were higher than the amounts the university had previously asked students to pay for the academic year, University Management chose to postpone the implementation of the new fees until 2020–2021 academic year. This was done in order to protect students from a fee hike in the middle of the academic year 2019–2020.
3. Management agreed to the request from the student leadership (SRC and GRASAG) to further defer the implementation of the legislative approved and gazetted fees until the 2021/2022 academic year in light of the COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020 and its accompanying difficulties.
4. As a result, rather than charging students the permitted rates for the academic years 2019–2020, 2020–2021, and 2021–2022, the University of Ghana in effect charged students discounted fees.
5. On December 13, 2022, the University declared that it would be implementing the agreed fees for 2019–2020 as a result of rising operating costs, following the completion of the necessary internal consultations and University Council approval. The statement added that the price schedules released at the time were temporary and that the amounts owed will change if Parliament approved the rates for the academic year 2022–2023.
6. The University learned that Parliament had approved an increase in academic fees of "...15% of the last approved rates" on December 21, 2022, in a letter from GTEC dated December 16, 2022.
7. It is significant to remember that the only previously approved fees were those that were gazetted in 2019–2020 (Ref. RMERD/NTPU/12/19/MDAS/FEES/5) and not the subsidized rates the University had to implement initially as a result of the late timing of the fee announcement in January 2020 and later as a result of concessions made in response to COVID and requests from student leadership.
8. Based on the gazetted approved costs for the 2019–2020 academic year, the University of Ghana has increased prices for the 2022–2023 academic year by 15%. Therefore, management reassures all parties involved—students, parents, and other interested parties—that the tuition costs levied for the 2022–2023 academic year are legitimate and correctly based on the levels allowed by Parliament.
The university has given students flexible fee payment periods in recognition of the challenging economic climate the nation is now experiencing. For instance, students are only permitted to register for the first semester after paying 50% of their user fees for academic facilities; the remaining balance is due in the second semester. Furthermore, students who are truly struggling financially are encouraged to request assistance through the university's Office of Student Financial Aid.
The administration has an open-door policy and has enlisted the help of student leadership on these matters. In order to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of all issues pertaining to the welfare of University stakeholders, we will continue to have conversations with student leaders, the general student body, parents and guardians, and all other stakeholders.