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The Woes Of Tertiary Students In Ghana Under The Mahama-Led NDC Government

By NPP Critical Thinkers
Press Release The Woes Of Tertiary Students In Ghana Under The Mahama-Led NDC Government
APR 23, 2015 LISTEN

It is pathetic that, the Mahama-Led NDC government had turned deaf ears to the cries of students despite the various challenges they are confronted with.

Currently, the cost of attaining tertiary education in Ghana had increased tremendously under this administration. One has to pay between GH¢3000 to GH¢8000 (depending on courses) for just one academic year in Public institutions. An amount far above what some private universities charges.

Parents/Guardians has no option than to struggle to pay these high fees because they believe, education is the backbone to nation’s development.

These increases, is in sharp contrast to the charges under the Kuffuor-Led NPP government (2001 – 2008).

Under the Kuffuor’s administration, students of Teacher Training Colleges (which were upgraded to Colleges of Education), only had to pay an admission fees between GH 250 – GH 400. They never paid any subsequent fees coupled with allowances till they graduate and absorbed into the teaching profession. Even with that, they enjoy their allowances till their back pay is paid in full. This isn’t quite different from the Nursing training institutions.

But it is sad to note that, things had fallen apart under the NDC government. Students, after fulfilling this burden of high cost, academic work on the various campuses has almost come to a halt due to the current power crisis which is referred to internationally as ‘DUMSOR’.

Lectures had to be postponed or terminated due to the power crisis and this is a serious threat to academic performance for it is said “Time lost can never be regained”.

Most departments have no option than to burden the innocent students with the cost of fuel in powering generators for academic work.

In the halls of residents, students need to at least buy two pairs of dry cells (batteries) a day, in powering their torchlights in order to study in the night. How much would students spend on dry cells in a semester as there is no clear indication by government in solving this power crisis? If the president cares for students, couldn’t he have prioritized the institutions by eliminating them from the load shedding as it is done for some government agencies?

You would recall that in 2014, Public universities were delayed in their re-opening for almost four months due to the deliberate attempt by government NOT to pay the allowances legitimately due university teachers. This unilateral decision affected both their academic work as well as their one year mandatory national service.

Polytechnic and College of education students have also had their fair share of this trauma. POTAG and CETAG embarked on 6months and 3months strike respectively over non-payment of their research allowances. This also affected students’ academic work.

Notwithstanding these, the Mahama-led NDC government had clinched in levying hall residents with utility bills (for the first time in the history of Ghana). Tertiary students are now told to pay for their own utilities on campuses after being slapped with these high academic fees. What happened to the cost sharing system where government is to assist students by baring utility cost?

Is prez mahama telling parents to cough money to pay for this after rendering them jobless due to the over three year power crisis which had led to the collapse of many industries/businesses? How would the poor guardian finance for these charges after government had misappropriated their paid taxes?

And where are the utilities these students are to pay for as there is no light and water on the campuses? Like the Akans says “ w’anya birirbi amma w’ase a yε mm) no kor)no” which literally means “If you can’t get anything for your in-law, you don’t steal from him”.

For all you know, it is a smart attempt by government to cut down cost due to the hard fact that Ghana is in financial crisis simply because of the Corruption, mismanagement and fiscal indiscipline that have characterized it ever since they assumed office. Have you forgotten the chief of staff office overspent it budget?

Why should government lessen its burden created by itself, at the expense of innocent students who are starving to become agents of change in Ghana?

The most painful aspect of it all is, after going through all these hardships, they graduate and come out unemployed due to government policy of not employing graduates into the public sector until three years after graduation. Even with that, there is no assurance of employment as there are no jobs in Ghana as I speak today.

The predicaments of PRIVATE STUDENTS are the saddest one. After being denied access to the public institutions, they are left to fallow in the various institutions they find themselves. Their challenges are of no concern to the government. Efforts by these students to catch the eye of the president had proved futile. In return, government recently slapped private universities with high taxes which had been subsequently shifted to students. Ahead of the 2012 elections, President Mahama promised to support private institutions through the GETFUND but this had only been realized in the ‘spiritual world’.

When it comes to employment, they are either not considered as a workable force or they are deliberately refused employment in the public sector. Anyway, I don’t blame the government so much as there are NO JOBS in Ghana!!!!

Gone are the days when private graduates were given the same opportunity as the Public graduates when it comes to employment under the Kuffuor’s regime.

The cancellation of teacher and nursing trainees’ allowances is a justification to Mahama’s negative posture towards tertiary education in Ghana.

These allowances were meant to augment trainees in the purchase of materials needed for their training due to its practical nature. The continuous support by the German government to teacher education in Ghana is a justification that, teachers are indeed the backbone to national change and development.

This was the more reason why the Kuffuor-led NPP government maintained the allowances of these trainees even after upgrading them to a tertiary status.

But unfortunately, the Mahama-led NDC government sees otherwise by scrapping off the allowances with the flimsy excuse of increasing enrollment. If government knew the allowance is a barrier to students’ intake, why did he increase the amount from GH60 to GH300 ahead of the 2012 elections? Was it just to deceive students and the public in order to get their votes? Doesn’t it make sense to have maintained the allowance at its state so as to pay for more students rather than sycophantly increasing it to GH300 (an amount that could have admitted additional FIVE students should we go by calculations) just to win an election? And immediately after achieving their intended goal, decides to scrap them off. Hasn’t the President played on the intelligent of Ghanaians? Time will tell!!

Now, would teacher trainees be paid any service allowance for their one year stay off-campus teaching practice? If no, how would they pay for their accommodation as well as teaching and learning materials?

Nonetheless, after going through these traumas, professionally trained teachers and nurses, from 2016, would be left to hunt for their own jobs since they could not be absorbed into the education and health sector respectively. This is contained in the IMF bailout directives of which government had unequivocally agreed to by their usual “Yes sir, master” attitude.

The irony is that, government keeps grumping of teacher and nurse deficit, yet not prepared to employ the available ones. No wonder the standard of education in Ghana keeps waning whilst quality health care delivery is deteriorating. The collapse of the School feeding programme and the National health insurance scheme instituted by the previous NPP government quickly comes to mind.

But, I’m relieved of despondency, as the 2016 flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo, had given hope to restore the teacher and nursing trainees’ allowances, reduce the high cost of education, Provide readily employment to everyone after graduation, Abolish the payment of utilities by students and also bring back the confidence in the Ghanaian economy should he assume office as the President of the republic of Ghana in 2017.

These, I find so applauded and plead with all Parents/Guardians, students and all stakeholders to come on board in making this promise feasible by voting massively for the NPP in the 2016 elections.

GHANA MUST WORK AGAIN!!!
Better hope for Students!! Better hope for All !!!
Ben sackey Enoch (+233242967608)
60% for NPP in Western North
Critical Thinkers

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