Students must pay realistic fees - Pro-Vice Chancellor

Accra, July 24, GNA - Professor Edward Ofori-Sarpong, Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Legon, on Wednesday said it had become necessary for managers of the nation's universities to charge realistic fees in order to give quality education.

He said nowhere in the world was a degree programme offered free of charge and, therefore, it was necessary to charge the right fees to be able to run enhanced programmes in the universities.

Professor Ofori-Sarpong, who was speaking to the GNA on recent appeals by the Students Representative Council of the University and the External Degree Centre for Workers to review the new admission fees, said the increases were based on the need to charge the right fees.

He said by a new policy approved by Academic Board and the University Council, among other bodies, the External Degree Centre had become autonomous and was now known as the City University.

The immediate needs of the new university, he said, included a computer laboratory, an upgraded library and offices at the cost of 300 million cedis.

Prof. Ofori-Sarpong said it is based on these and other factors that university was charging the new approved fees of eight million cedis and six million cedis for freshmen admitted to pursue BSc Administration and the humanities, respectively, beginning this year. Continuing students would not be affected.

He said the University authorities also held meetings with the Students Representative Council and unfolded the decisions and reasons to their satisfaction and, therefore, expressed his surprise that the students have turned round to request for a review of the fees.

The Pro-Vice Chancellor in making a case for the new fees said it cost government about 40,000 dollars to educate one student in the United States by scholarship.

The private universities in the country also charge similar fees or higher than the City University.

Students admitted to the External Degree Centre in the recent past years paid subsidised fees of less than one million cedis.