The management of the University of Ghana says the 15 percent 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 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 authorized by Parliament.
This was in a statement signed by Mrs Emelia Agyei-Mensah, the Registrar, University of Ghana, issued to the Ghana News Agency in Accra on the adjustments to academic facility user fees for the 2022/2023 academic year.
The statement said the University recognized the current difficult economic situation in the country and provided flexible fee payment terms for students.
“Students are allowed to register for the first semester upon payment of 50 percent of their academic facility user fees, with the remaining amount due in the second semester.
“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,” the statement said.
The statement said the University would continue to dialogue with student leaders, the general student body, parents and guardians, and all other stakeholders for a better understanding and appreciation of all matters on the welfare of stakeholders at the University.
It expressed concerns about the false information circulated about the adjustments of academic facility user fees by the University for the 2022/2023 academic year and thought it prudent to set the records straight for all stakeholders.
The statement said in the 2019/2020 academic year, public universities, including the University of Ghana, were given approval by Parliament to increase their fees by 5 percent cumulatively based on the 2016/2017 approved 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 to spare students from a fee increase in the middle of the 2019/2020 academic year,” it said.
The statement said the University announced on December 13, 2022, following all the necessary internal consultations and approval by the University Council, 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.
The University Students Association of Ghana, in a statement on December 20, 2022, rejected the 15 percent increment in fees for public universities approved by Parliament.
The Association said the upward adjustment would make access to education increasingly difficult.
