General News of Monday, 7 August 2017
Source: citifmonline.com
2017-08-07
Protests over the fees began in July
The University Students Association of Ghana (USAG) has called on all students of public tertiary institutions not to pay their recently increased fees for the 2017/2018 academic year until Parliament approves the increase.
The President of the association, Emmanuel Kwarteng Frimpong told Citi News that the current fees are too exorbitant.
According to him, the association has received numerous petitions from students over the increment in fees and his association is demanding the breakdown of fees so each student knows what services they are paying for.
“Until Parliament goes through the fees, gives the breakdown and approves for students, we should withhold payment, just in fulfillment of the constitutional provisions (Fees and Charges Act 793),” he stated.
The Fees and Charges Act 2009 (Act 793), which was amended by a legislative instrument (LI2228), 2016 seeks to safeguard the public against arbitrary and haphazard charges and levying of students by universities.
This Act mandates vice chancellors to seek approval from Parliament, through the National Tertiary Council, Mr. Frimpong reminded.
“It is a humble plea to the Vice Chancellors of Ghana that it is only prudent, fair and appropriate that that we get the breakdown of what exactly we are paying for so that we will have the firm knowledge of what we are being charged and what we are supposed to pay.”
Protests over the fees began in July, with continuing students of the University of Ghana complaining about the rise in their fees for the 2017/2018 academic year. Each year, the university increases fees based on prevailing inflation rate plus 2%.
The Minister of State in charge of Tertiary Education, Professor Kwesi Yankah, recently urged the vice-chancellors of Ghana adhere to the Fees and Charges Act 2009 (Act 793).
He noted they had resorted to fixing fees and other levies without recourse to the law.
