Education Ministry Orders Suspension Of New University Fees

The Education Ministry has ordered authorities at the University of Ghana to reverse the recent fee increases announced for the 2002/2003 academic year. According to the Ministry, the fees have not been approved. Students will therefore have to pay the same academic and residential facilities user fees as those they paid last year. A statement issued in Accra and signed by the special assistant to the Education Minister, Ahmed Ayuba said the directive for the suspension of the new fees was decided on at a meeting between the National Council for Tertiary Education, the Education Ministry and the Committee of Vice Chancellors and Principals.

That decision was taken to alleviate the financial burden on parents and students.

Meanwhile, the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) has expressed displeasure with the new fees announced by the nation’s premier university. The national President of NUGS, Edward Bawa, says the association dissociates itself from the new fees because negotiations were not completed before the announcement.

But he asked students to exercise restraint as efforts are made to get the parties back to the negotiations table. Last night, Students of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology also objected to the fees increases at the University of Ghana.