Govt Must Support Fees Of Private Tertiary Students -

An Appeal Court Judge, Justice Isaac Duose, has called on the government to establish a capitation grant to support tuition fees paid by students in private tertiary institutions.

He said it was unfair for such students, whose parents paid taxes to the state, to pay huge sums of money as tuition fees, while their colleagues in public tertiary institutions paid nothing.

Justice Duose made the call at the eighth matriculation of Wisconsin International University College in Accra, which marked the official admission of 530 freshmen to pursue various first degree programmes for the 2010/11 academic year.

Justice Duose, who is also the Chairman of the university’s council, said in the absence of such facility, graduates of private tertiary institutions, who funded their own education, should be exempted from undertaking national service.

“How can a person who received free tuition and another who did not, be equally subject to compulsory national service? One can and must only reap what he has sown”, he submitted.

Justice Duose indicated that graduates of private tertiary institutions might decide to do national service voluntarily if they so wish.

He also told the freshmen that they had made the right choice by enrolling at Wisconsin International University College, giving them the full assurance that “your investment will not be in vain”.

The Executive Director of DataBank Brokerage Limited, Mr Yoofi Grant, who was the special guest of honour, advised the matriculants to take their studies seriously, pointing out that what they made out of their education largely depended on them and not the university.

He also urged them to prepare for their future now and not wait till they had completed school, adding that education was not just about the knowledge one acquired in school, but what one did with such knowledge to bring change to the

society.

“Do not focus on the degree; focus on the greater pursuit of life”, he urged the students, and challenged them to build their confidence in order to become what they aspired to be in the future.

The acting Principal of the university, Dr Akosua Eghan, who administered the matriculation oath to the freshmen, dismissed the notion that private tertiary institutions admitted less capable students than public tertiary institutions.

She said the public universities could offer admission to only 30 per cent of qualified candidates, while the private universities absorbed a large number of the qualified applicants.

Dr Eghan said the guiding principle of education was to provide quality education for all people regardless of their peculiar circumstances or social background.

She said a four-storey building was under construction to provide additional lecture halls, computer laboratories, libraries and reading rooms, to ease the pressure on existing facilities.

On behalf of the participants, Mr Samuel Ogunleye, said they were expected to acquire the kind of knowledge that would enable them to broaden their horizon, build leadership abilities and potentials, and become scholars with value on the job market.

He pledged that he and his colleagues would abide by the rules and regulations of the university.