The National President of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) has called on the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) to provide a detailed explanation of how it intends to fund the payment of fees for first-year university students if elected into office.
Prof Mahamoud Akudugu acknowledged that the proposal could be a beneficial policy but raised concerns about whether it would create equity and address the infrastructural challenges in tertiary institutions.
“We believe that it should be targeted for equity and we would have preferred that this is given as a bursary, scholarship, or grant to the universities to administer as they will be able to know which students need the support based on their history,” he stated.
As political parties roll out their manifestos, Prof. Akudugu noted that UTAG has decided to closely examine policies that affect them, and they have extended invitations to flagbearers to discuss these matters in detail.
Regarding the NDC flagbearer’s announcement of paying fees for university freshers when voted into office, Prof. Akudugu expressed uncertainty about whether this is the only support package the party has for tertiary institutions.
NDC flagbearer John Mahama has announced that first-year tertiary students will not pay academic fees.
According to him, this initiative is part of the government’s effort to lessen the financial burden on parents funding their children’s education.
“We will implement a no-fees stress programme to alleviate the financial burden on parents and students in financing tertiary education. We will implement a no academic fees policy at the university for level 100 students,” Mahama said during the NDC’s manifesto reading on August 12.
Additionally, Mr Mahama noted that the party will redeploy the Student Loan Trust Fund to give continuing students the option to utilise student loans to finance their university fees directly, ensuring that students can focus on their studies with peace of mind.
However, the UTAG national president is asking for more clarity in the face of infrastructural challenges.
“In the propositions, I have not heard anything about lecture theatres and lecture recruitments… it is good news that a government wants to do this, but the Association is also concerned about government funding to the universities.
“As of now, government funding to the universities has drastically declined to the extent that it is only salaries that are being paid,” he said.
He also highlighted that universities are expected to cover their own utilities and other bills.
“So if you are proposing a policy of this nature and there is no provision for infrastructure and so on, the students come, and there is no place for them to sit.”
“We want to have a fuller picture so that we can holistically deal with it,” Prof. Akudugu concluded.
Source: Myjoyonline