We won’t pay fees until parliamentary Approval – Ag. SRC President, UDS Navrongo Campus
The Acting Student’s Representative Council (SRC) president for the University for Development Studies (UDS), Navrongo Campus and a member of the University Students’ Association of Ghana- USAG, Mr. Ofori Adu Samuel has called for an urgent parliamentary review and scrutiny of fees for the 2017/2018 academic year before students are made to pay.
He expressed worry over exorbitant fees charged by the institutions for the upcoming academic year.
According to Mr.Adu before the approval of fees for any academic year, the various presidents for the different UDS campuses meet the fees negotiating committee set up by the university to conclude on an acceptable fees for students.
“There are no changes made when we express our concerns during these meetings, we do not see the relevance of these meetings sincerely ”
“They shut you up when you try expressing your concerns”, Mr. Adu stated.
He continued by stating that most students will find it difficult paying this fees.
He was speaking in a telephone Conversation on Ahotor FM’s morning show, hosted by Emmanuel Quarshie (Hitman) on Monday 7th, August 2017.
The fees and charges Act 2009 (Act 793) has not been followed by heads of tertiary institutions who have resorted to fixing fees and other levies without recourse to the Law.
This act, which was amended by the legislative instrument (LI2228),2016 seeks to safeguard the public against arbitrary and haphazard charging and levying of students by universities.
Mr. Mahama Ayariga who is the Chairman of the Subsidiary Legislation committee of parliament has threatened to go court to compel public universities, polytechnics and nursing training colleges to legalize their school fees.
Below is the press release from UTAG
7/08/17
PRESS RELEASE
RE: WITHHOLD THE PAYMENT OF FEES UNTIL IT GETS PARLIAMENTARY APPROVAL.-USAG
The University Students’ Association of Ghana-USAG, in a press conference few days ago called for an urgent parliamentary review and scrutiny of fees for the 2017/2018 academic year before students are made to pay.
Alarmed that university education in the next few decades will be a privilege and not a right as enshrined in the 1992 constitution of Ghana, We the undersigned student leaders wish to join the call by USAG that all Vice Chancellors must seek parliamentary approval of fees through the National Council for Tertiary Education as required by the Fees and Charges Act 2009 (Act 793) before it is passed on to students to pay.
We wish to equally plead with the minister of education to take steps to expedite the ratification of fees by the parliamentary select committee on education to ensure that students pay for the right amount of fees.
We further request in utmost humility that Vice Chancellors of various Universities should from hence take steps to give out the breakdown of component items that constitute fees to their students so as to have the right knowledge about what exactly they are paying for.
Education must forever be a right; right for all, and as such effective measures must be adopted to ensure it remains reasonably affordable for all regardless of one’s financial or social standing.
In the spirit of solidarity with our mother union-(USAG), we wish to further direct our students in the various public universities to withhold the payment of fees until it gets parliamentary approval with breakdown of components published on various universities websites for the perusal of students.
Daniel Koranteng Kwagyiri| ahotoronline.com|Ghana
