Public universities have sworn to make up for the decline in government subvention, and these days anything goes -- including charging exorbitantly for on-line application scratch-cards when most of the applicants do not even get admitted.
Today most of the applications are either done directly on-line or applicants are asked to download and print application forms at their own cost.
This notwithstanding, the cost of applying to universities in the country, including public ones, has been increasing at a rate that has alarmed many applicants and their families; particularly those with low incomes.
Many people wonder what is peculiar about Ghanaian universities that they have to charge so much as application fees, when most universities globally do not charge a dime for applications.
Ghanaian universities are yet to muster the courage to stop charging application fees even as they have moved away from selling application forms to on-line application platforms.
Currently, scratch-cards to apply on-line for undergraduate programmes at the various public universities go for close to GH¢200 for most of the public universities.
Considering that a good number of applicants apply to a number of universities at the same time, the cost becomes even higher.
“I applied to three universities -- that is KNUST, Legon and UPSA -- and my brother paid almost GH¢600 for that,” said nineteen-year-old Gideon Amartey who is anxiously waiting to go to university. “If I had the money, I would have applied to two others,”he said.
“The transition of application forms from manual to electronic should have lessened the cost, I do not see why it is rather so expensive these days, said Reeves Rhommenze Romeo, a student of one of the universities.
“If the form was hard-copy it is quite understandable (even that should not be expensive, honestly), but it’s electronic now and the price is even higher than when it was manual. I still don't understand; maybe there is a reason for that but for now I don't understand why the fee goes up when it is electronic,” he said.
According to NUGS’ representative on the National Youth Authority, Prince David Orchill, the situation may even compel some potential university goers to settle for the security agencies since they do not have to pay much there.
“We are not very happy with the increasing cost of these scratch-cards. It is not fair. Now they have made the cards so expensive that students spend all their money on registration formalities and are left with no money to pay their fees after they get admitted,” he said.
The universities have argued that in view of dwindling government subvention, they are having to rely on internally generated funds to keep them going.
In its Strategic Plan, spanning the years 2014 to 2024, the University of Ghana says, for example, that its funding sources have changed “significantly” in the last decade since government support has dropped from being more than 90% of its budget to just over 55%.
“The significance of internally generated funds, relying extensively on fees from students, will grow,” it said.
Source: Business & Financial Times
In a statement the leadership of NUGS challenged the Deputy Minister of Education in charge of Tertiary, Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa over claims that they have endorsed the payment.
They asked the Deputy Minister to provide the said communiqué or forevoer hold his peace
The statement, which was jointly signed by Iddi Muhayu-Deen, NUGS General Secretary and Rhodalyn Eshun, Press and Information Secretary read: “The leadership of NUGS have received with utter dismay comments attributed to the Deputy Education Minister (Tertiary Division), Hon. Okudzeto Ablakwa, to the effect that stakeholders in education, including student leaders, have agreed to a cost sharing arrangement between government, on one hand, and students on the other in respect of the payment of utility bills at the nation's tertiary institutions.”
Mr Ablakwa initially made the revelation in Kumasi at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology on April 15 whilst addressing students during the second edition of the Ministry's Campus Connect series.
He has since been repeating same on several media platforms, NUGS stated.
This development, according to NUGS has justifiably created a lot of fear and panic among students across the country; many of whom have vowed to take on the NUGS executive for such a gaffe.
“We therefore deem it expedient to come clean on the matter and put out the true facts.”
“In setting the records straight, we wish to begin by stating unequivocally that the claims by Okudzeto Ablakwa are factually incorrect, spurious, and as such should be disregarded by all.”
“We are by this release, DARING Hon. Ablakwa to make public the said communiqué he claims forms the basis for government's decision to partially withdraw utility subsidies to be borne by students, which was reached at the end of a stakeholder meeting.”
“If Hon. Ablakwa fails to produce that communiqué, which he claims received the endorsement of NUGS (or its rep), then he should not only desist from making such claims, but should also retract and render an unqualified apology to the leadership of NUGS for this unwarranted disservice. If he fails to do either, we shall advise ourselves.”
If government intends to withdraw utility subsidies to public institutions, then it should gather the necessary courage to make that point loud and clear rather than this cowardly approach of trying to ‘implicate’ student leaders in this enterprise as a cover-up for government's unpopular move. It is very much obvious that government is afraid of the consequences and political ramifications of such move hence the decision to play a smart one at all of us, the students said.
“For the avoidance of doubt, we wish to once again state emphatically that NUGS has NOT consented to any communiqué that involves levying the cost of utility bills on students. In fact, we are yet to see the final resolution or communiqué of the stakeholder meeting held on 25th March at the UPSA Auditorium.”
“We therefore find it disingenuous that Ablakwa continuously makes reference to this communiqué that nobody but himself has seen. Why hasn't it been issued to the media as agreed upon? Obviously, a communiqué cannot be a secret document and we demand to see it NOW and NOW. We have had enough of this political gymnastics and merry-go-round.”
They continued: “We wish to conclude by reiterating our long-standing impregnable position in respect of this matter, that NUGS shall vehemently RESIST any attempt by government to surcharge students for utility bills. That will not and cannot happen else the students of this country will shake the very foundation of our government with an unwavering ALUTA.”
Source: Graphic.com.gh