Scores of University of Ghana (Legon) students have besieged the streets of Accra in recognition of a demo dubbed Yɛabrɛ mo 2.0 demo.
The demonstration is in protest of 40% fee increment for public universities for the 2022/2023 academic year and the limited accommodation for students.
Clad in red and black attire, the protesters abandoned their lectures on Friday to converge at the Obra Spot at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle.
Calling themselves the Concerned Students Association of UG, the group marched through the principal streets of Accra to Independence Square after which a petition was presented to the Education Ministry.
They wielded placards some of whose inscriptions read enough of the misplaced priorities, fair treatment for all students not selected few, VC must go among others.
An aggrieved student in an interview called on management as a matter of urgency to reduce the fees considering the economic hardships citizens are faced with.
He also asked management to expedite processes towards the construction of hostels on campus or partner with private investors if they do not have the required funds.
“We are demanding that the school reduces the fees and also find accommodation for students. Out of about 10,000 regular students only 6,000 were given accommodation where do you expect them to sleep? We have students who travel all the way from Kasoa for lectures and we leave them at the mercy of criminals when they close in the night,” he lamented.
Parliament recently approved a 15% maximum increment in university fees from the previous academic year but some universities released fees with very high percentage increments.
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This sparked a lot of agitations among students amidst demands for a reduction.
At a meeting with the management of some public universities and the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) on January 5, 2023, Education Minister, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, directed the University of Ghana to comply with the 15% increment.
But it seems the directive fell on deaf ears, hence the action of the students.