Govt is in arrears of C411 billion to the GETFund - NUGS

Accra, Oct. 16, GNA - The National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) on Thursday reaffirmed its stand that Government is indebted to the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) in arrears of about 411 billion cedis.

Mr A. H. Prince Adams, the new President of NUGS, said this at the maiden press conference of the new Executives in Accra. "The proof by NUGS of the discrepancies in the disbursement of the Fund is indeed the greatest victory for democracy and common sense", he said.

Mr Adams appealed to Government to open a collaborative negotiation with the new Executives to set the records straight on the tussle over the GETFund.

He said NUGS was tolerant, democratic and not a faultfinder as some people perceived it to be.

Mr Adams said in view of the high cost of living and the hike in the prices of consumer goods and services, the Union was appealing to the Government and other agencies in charge of the Student Loans Scheme to consider an upward increment of the loan from two million cedis to five million cedis to mitigate the plight of students.

He appealed to the Government to correct the anomalies in academic user fees since it was becoming unbearable, adding, "some heads of institutions, who charge exorbitant fees outside the approved fees by the Ghana Education Service, (GES) should be checked".

Mr Adams said during his tenure of office, NUGS would embark on leadership training seminars from the Senior Secondary Schools (SSS) to the tertiary level.

He said NUGS would collaborate with the sectors involved in Basic, Secondary and Girl-Child Education, Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs and other organizations committed to youth protection and development.

"HIV/AIDS awareness programmes for the youth, students and the public would be among the agenda of NUGS nationwide publicity campaign", he said.

The President said in appreciation of Government's commitment to develop the educational sector, it should not wait for school authorities to send students home or threaten to close down schools before releasing subsidies to educational institutions.

Mr Adams warned students that the Union would not countenance any irresponsible behaviour and advised students to abide by the rules and regulations governing society.

He congratulated Ms Adjoa Yeboah-Afari, President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) and urged her to institute measures to bring dynamism into Journalism.

Mr Adams expressed concern about some media houses that published falsehood and later retracted them with apologies.