Cash drying up on tertiary education

The Executive Secretary of the National Council for Tertiary Education, Paul Effah, says government expend is has been on the decline. ?Put together the institutions receive about 50 percent of their assessed budgetary requirements,? he said.

Effah was speaking at a meeting on tertiary education organized by Communication for Education (COMED) a non- profit advocacy organization, the World Bank and the School of Communication Studies, University of Ghana. ?Unless funding is diversified, the quality of education will be severely compromised,? Effah explained.

Driven by high population growth rate and the desire to expand enrolment at the basic and secondary levels, there is a high social demand for tertiary education far in excess of the capacity to manage. Enrolment in universities increased from 15,365 in the 1993/94 academic years to 53,895 in the 2002/2003 academic years. This represents a 250 percent increase in enrolment. Polytechnic admission also increased from 1,385 to 23,117 representing 1,569 percent increase in enrolment for the same period.

In spite of this only about 30 percent of qualified applicants gain admission to the universities. ?Tertiary education today is not what it was when we were in the University,? said Victor Okwei Nortey, an Educationist and former University lecturer. ?The institutions are over stretched; over populated, teaching staff are tired and over worked; students are sleeping on top of each other; the courses are over subscribed and the cash flow difficulties have become chronic,? Nortey said adding, ?That the institutions are under considerable stress is there for all to see.?

Effah also says quality in tertiary institutions is not assured and institutions and programmes are becoming increasingly irrelevant. He said changing student demographics and pressures to contribute to the building of open societies have compelled institutions to introduce innovations and diversification of institutions, courses and programmes. New forms of competition are emerging as a result of diversification and increasing participation of the private sector in the provision of tertiary education.

The proliferation of private tertiary institutions also poses a threat to the traditional universities. This is because fees charged are sometimes 10 times higher than that of the state universities. For instance the new Presbyterian University is charging 10 million cedis per semester while the University of Ghana and the University of Science and Technology are charging between one million and 1.5 million cedis.

Even the Accra City Campus of the University of Ghana where fees charged are said to be very high is less than half of what private and mission universities are charging-between three and four million cedis per year. Private universities are also said to be enticing state sponsored university lecturers with higher salaries and better incentives than the government provides them. This has led to agitations of higher fees payment as lecturers demand higher wages.

The University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) went on strike at the beginning of August but it was not until 20th September that they returned to the classroom after assurances from government to look into their plight. ?There is increasing pressure on higher education institutions to assist society in fighting poverty and in promoting community development and social transformation,? said Effah. Also a lot of people have expressed concern about the increasing cost of tertiary education in the country, which will definitely leave the poor behind.

According to the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy, five out of ten regions have more than 40 percent of the population living in poverty with the three northern regions being the worst affected. Article 25 Section (1) of the 1992 constitution states that all persons shall have the right to equal educational opportunities and facilities. Again Section 1? adds that ?higher education shall be made equally accessible to all on the basis of capacity by every appropriate means and in particular by progressive introduction of free education. Effah also revealed that a white paper on reforms to the education system states that policy on funding and financing recommends a system of cost sharing between government, the student population and the private sector. Another report which was published by a Special Parliamentary Committee on Problems Facing Students of tertiary institutions following a petition to Parliament in 1999 by the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) also said ?subject to the availability of funds to fully provide for the requirements of tertiary institutions, the costs of all tuition or academic facilities should be shared by all stakeholders.

?However, government should continue to provide the major share of the funds,? Effah quotes the report adding, ?Any charges of fees to be borne by students and parents should be adopted upon consultation with all relevant stakeholders.? Such charges according to the report should be reasonable and should come into force only after adequate notification. Effah recommended innovative ways to expand access to tertiary institutions. He said there should be in place sustainable financing schemes while emphasis should be placed on science and technology. ?A viable and sustainable students loan scheme together with other schemes such as scholarships and bursaries and a diversified tertiary education system should ensure that no person who qualifies to enter a tertiary institution is denied access on account of lack of funds.?

Nortey is also of the view that tertiary institutions need the assistance of the media especially in times of difficulties and all other times to discuss its problems and help find solutions to them. A lecturer at the School of Communication studies Dr. Bonnah Koomson has said the media does not debate education as much as it debates salaries, health insurance schemes and funding for political parties. ?It is said that a country?s greatest asset is not the gold nor oil nor diamonds in its soil but the quality of its human resource,? Dr. Bonnah Koomson added.s.

Author: By Isabella Gyau Orhin