First-Year University Students to No Longer Receive Direct Refund Under No-Fee Stress Policy

• The government will no longer refund fees to students as part of the no-fee stress policy
• Deputy Education Minister Dr Clement Apaak explained that funds will rather be credited toward second-year tuition fees
• GH¢499.8 million was allocated for the policy serving all first-year students in public tertiary institutions

Deputy Education Minister Dr Clement Apaak has disclosed that first-year university students will not receive direct refunds under the government’s no-fee stress policy.

Funds will rather be credited toward their second-year tuition fees in an attempt to keep to the promise.

Apaak told Joy News that this approach ensures accountability and avoids logistical challenges.

“Rather than the physical reimbursement, going forward, as they go into their second year, what should have come to them to defer their academic fee for the first year will become a credit, which will then mean that as they go to second year, they wouldn’t have to pay because they have already paid for their first year.”

In the National Democratic Congress' 2024 manifesto, it pledged to implement a policy of no academic fees for all first-year students in all public tertiary institutions.

In the 2025 budget, GH¢499.8 million was allocated for the No-Academic-Fee policy for all first-year students in public tertiary institutions under the ‘No-Fees-Stress’ initiative.

The government has also uncapped the GETFund in the hope of making available dedicated funds for the full financing of free tertiary education for Persons with Disability.

What we know about the no-fee stress policy

The no-fees stress policy is meant to be flexible and not binding on all parents. The government has indicated that parents who want to pay academic fees would be allowed to do so.

During the vetting of the Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, he was asked about the policy's coverage, and suggested that people in colleges of education, nursing schools, and others would not be left out.

However, he also suggested that professional courses like medicine and law would not be covered.

The responses during the vetting indicated that the government has yet to outline the policy's beneficiaries clearly at this stage.

Economist worried about the bigger picture

YEN.com.gh reported that the promise to scrap university tuition for first-year students has been met with some scepticism.

An applied economist, Alfred Appiah, believes the tuition promise is a misplaced priority because of Ghana’s economic challenges and upcoming debt servicing after defaults that ushered in an IMF bailout.

Appiah felt Ghana could not afford any interventions like extra free education.

Africa Education Watch's Senior Programme Officer, Divine Kpe, at the time said the proposal is welcoming but needs to be targeted at needy people.

Source: YEN.com.gh