Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Student and Academic Affairs for the University of Ghana, Prof. Gordon Awandare, has bemoaned the mode used by students to demand a reduction in their academic and residential fees.
Prof. Awandare, made this known at a press conference held by the University of Ghana on 17th February 2023, at the Institute of Statistical, Social, and Economic Research (ISSER), to address issues with regard to new academic fees and new residential arrangements among others.
According to Prof. Awandare, student leadership groups should have gotten a better understanding of the matter and pleaded for a reduction in school fees rather than writing to parliament and hitting the streets to demonstrate.
“Stop talking about illegal fees and start appealing to the university for mercy to show mercy on you and give you a reduction, but instead, you kept talking about illegal fees.”
Prof. Awandare also tasked the media to be transparent in their reportage to avoid misinformation and generating unnecessary controversies.
“I would like the media to be a little more [transparent] when reporting because this controversy should not have happened at all if the media were [transparent] with the issues.
Because this is a document that is available, the act of Parliament attached a schedule of what baseline we should use.”
Political Science Lecturer at the University of Ghana who was also present at the press conference, Prof. Ransford Gyampo, stated that if the university will consider discounting the fees, students and management would have to come to an agreement on how that will be done.
He lamented the inadequate support from the government in maintaining infrastructure at the University
“Let’s take note, if it happens that the university is going to give a discount then, this time there should be a certain agreement between the student and management. You have seen our infrastructure here, you should be asking yourself, how much is the government giving to us, to be able to maintain this infrastructure? Almost nothing. What government gives is only enough to pay for salaries. There’s no money to buy water to flush W.C., and it’s very important. ”
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Story by Cindy Humade- Selassie | univers.ug.edu.gh
