The National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) has slagged off some public tertiary institutions for charging “unapproved” fees for the 2022/2023 academic year.
According to the mother students’ body, the institutions have already started implementing new fees above the 15% threshold approved by Parliament under the Fees and Charges (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2022 (Act 1080).
The Union named the University of Ghana (UG), the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), the University of Cape Coast (UCC), the University of Education, Winneba (UEW) and others, at a news conference, for “leading the charge of illegalities”.
“The student front is unhappy about the levels of fees in this country and that is very straightforward. We are still here with a number of public institutions glaringly disregarding the parliament of Ghana,” NUGS President Dennis Appiah Larbi-Ampofo said.
“Unfortunately, laying the bed of illegality is not a precedent that must be set by leaders of institutions, especially in the face of growing unrest and agitations at the various levels of the student front,” Master Larbi-Ampofo added.
The Union called for an immediate halt to “unapproved” charges by the institutions, saying any “blatant” disregard to the approved 15% threshold would be fiercely resisted.
Additionally, it wants the institutions to give students the chance to pay 50% of fees and be allowed to undertake their academic and residential registrations “with the outstanding balance paid over the period of the academic year”.
“It is important that institutions and structures provided by the state ensure compliance by schools. It is also important that the monitoring and enforcement duties of state is exercised by the authorities mandated to do so, it is only by this can we ensure the welfare and protection of the vulnerable in society.”
Meanwhile, NUGS has called on all tertiary students not to pay any fees increased above the threshold of 15%.
“We can all do the maths. Stick with 15% maximum [because] you break no law by not following an illegality,” Master Larbi-Ampofo charged.
By Christian Yalley|3news.com|Ghana