Olivia Lebene Doe
27 September 2007
Scores of students from the Accra City Campus of the University of Ghana yesterday boycotted lectures to demonstrate against their exorbitant tuition fees.
The students numbering about four thousand were clad in red bands while others wielded placards some of which read "We are not foreign students, My father is a civil servant, This is not slightly higher".
Their demand was for government to subsidize the tuition fees to a comparatively minimal level.
They presented copies of their petition to Parliament and the Sector Ministry respectively.
Though Parliament was on recess, its Acting Deputy Clerk, Rose Keddey received a copy of the petition, which she promised to present to the House when it resumed sitting.
It took the timely intervention of the Deputy Greater Accra Regional Police Commander ACP Kwasi Boateng to halt a near confusion when the students were told that the Sector Minister, Professor Dominic Fobih was not around to receive their petition.
Later, the Chief Director of the Ministry, James Afranie was made to receive the petition on behalf of the Minister.
Presenting the petition, the President of the Student Representative Council (SRC), Daniel Korshie Adraku noted that the issue of high fees had persisted for four years without any fruitful results.
"We are told by the University authorities that the subsidy from government is minimal hence students are made to foot the remaining percentage. Students however find it unbearably expensive," he said.
According to Mr Adraku they did not benefit from GETfund as other campuses did in other to commemorate its status as a public institution. Further, every structure put up on the City Campus was paid from the students' pocket.
He added that the high fees at the City Campus have pushed many students out of school and others to defer their studies.
Also, there were situations where students were unable to meet the registration deadlines. He advocated for the need for the Executives to step in to save the situation of deferring their programmes.
The charges, in addition to expenses that students incur in the course of the semester he said include Level 100, GH¢806.00 (¢8,060,000); Level 200 Administration GH¢976.00 (¢9,760,000), Humanities GH¢756.00 (¢7,560,000); Level 300 Administration GH¢976.00 (¢9,760,000), Humanities GH¢756.00 (¢7,560,000); Level 400 Administration GH¢471.00 (¢4,710,000), Humanities GH¢597.00 (¢5,970,000); Diploma II Administration GH¢536.00 (¢5,360,000), Humanities GH¢426.00 (¢4,260,000).
He emphasized that these charges had put City Campus above the reach of the ordinary Ghanaian student. "We don't intend to contest the reasons for the charges, but to appeal to the prudent Government of the Republic to intervene in order to alleviate the plight of the students of the University of Ghana-Accra City Campus," he declared.
Mr Adraku spoke concerning time schedules for lectures at the Accra City Campus especially for workers. He mentioned the fact that some lectures were held between the 12 noon and 2.30pm, which for him, was "highly unfavorable for workers who cannot leave work at these times". This situation, he said, had put jobs of several workers on the line, some resulting in dismissals and others receiving threats from their employers.
Formerly known as Workers College, the Accra City Campus runs a four-year degree programme for Senior Secondary School (SSS) graduates who have duly qualified to pursue university education.
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