University of Ghana to increase fees from 2019/2020 academic year
- Dean of Students, Prof. Godfred Bokpin, says the University of Ghana has been under-funded causing undue strain on its finances
- Students of the University of Ghana (UG) may have to brace themselves to pay more fees in the next academic year
The management of the University of Ghana are set to increase fees for the next academic year, 2019/2020.
According to the Dean of Students, Prof. Godfred Bokpin, the premiere university is currently going through financial distress.
He told Joy News in an interview that the university is very strained financial because it has been under-funded from government for sometime now.
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Students of the university were agitating because of rumor of possible privatisation of some four halls of residence, following the failure of University Management to pay a ¢43 million loan facility contracted in 2008 for the construction of the halls.
The students who spoke to Joy News say they will resist any attempt by University Management to pass on the cost to them.
“We won’t pay and we will be bold to defend this just cause like we have done many times, we will resolve this without destroying any property,” one student said.
But Prof. Godfred Bokpin debunked the allegations that the university wants to privatise the halls. Instead he said, the university is seriously considering increasing the fees in the next academic year.
“There isn’t any firm decision to privatise those halls but that proposal has come up for consideration as the university is looking at various options available to enable it to draw down on these facilities.
"Currently, the University does not have a balance sheet and I think increasing fees is available…there is the need to look at the fees students are paying because the university is heavily underfunded by government.”
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According to him, the constraint of the school has to be addressed because the last three years Parliament had to step in to determine who has the right to determine the fees.
“So we are still charging fees as low as it was in 2015/2016 academic year. But you will bear with me that prices are not the same now and we have to be realistic with what is on the ground is that we are running down our assets that we are not able to maintain and increase infrastructure,” he said.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
