Student leaders at the University of Ghana have been criticized for their failure to engage in discussions with the Students’ Account office over the fee increment saga.
Speaking in an interview on Campus Exclusive, the Students’ Accountant, Samuel Osei Mensah, expressed disappointment in the leaders for not making themselves available for dialogue.
According to Osei Mensah, none of the student leaders met with the Students’ Account office to discuss the issue during their engagements with the Media and Parliament.
“At the initial stages of the matter, I was expecting the student leaders to come to the Students’ Account office, and we go through the calculations together. When we were going back and forth with parliament and the media, none of them came to the Students’ Account office,” Osei Mensah said.
He however stated that the Students’ Account office is always open to address any challenges with the fee calculations for both students and students leaders.
He also urged them to seek clarification on the calculation of the newly approved 2% discount on the 15% increment of fees for some selected categories of students at the university from the University’s Management itself.
“Let me advise the student leaders. If you have any challenges with the calculation, just pass by the Students’ Account office at Jones Quartey Building, and we will sit down with you and go through the calculations together,” he added.
The call for dialogue from Osei Mensah comes after the University of Ghana approved a 15% increment of fees late last year, 2022.
The increment was considered illegal by various stakeholders until the Parliament Select Committe on Education revealed that the University had indeed approved the fees in accordance to the directive given by the parliament to increase fees by 15%.
The Parliament Commitee on to request for a discount for some students as the committee emphasized over the current economic constraints that the nation is facing.
The university subsequently approved a one-time 2% discount, in response to the committee’s appeal.
