Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the MP for North Tongu, has described a decision by officials of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) to defer admitting roughly 6,000 students as harsh and inconsiderate, given Ghana’s current economic challenges.
Ablakwa has called on the Ministry of Education to intervene urgently and reverse the decision.
In a Facebook post, Ablakwa called on Parliament “to revisit our earlier motion” calling for a special subsidy on fees, particularly for needy tertiary students.
Below is the full post:
Background
Roughly 6,000 students, representing about 8% of the 85,256 student population of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), have had to defer their courses in line with university regulations governing non-payment of fees.
The academic board of KNUST deferred the students’ courses because they have not paid their academic user fees.
Early this year, the university extended the payment date from 21 March 2022 to 11 April 2022 to allow the students to honour their obligation. However, as of last week, when mid-semester examinations had started, the 6,000-plus students had reneged on the promises they made following an earlier plea.
Some of the students started receiving messages from the university’s administrators on Tuesday afternoon that their entry had been deferred because they had been unable to meet KNUST’s requirements, set out in the university’s debt management policy.
“Dear student, your programme has been deferred as you have not met the minimum requirement of the KNUST fees credit and debt management policy. Thank you,” read one of the messages, a copy of which readers will find pasted below.
Invested fees
The university relations officer of KNUST, Daniel Norris Bekoe, told Graphic Online on Wednesday (20 April 2022) that the university was aware that some of the affected students have invested their fees in many businesses, including online ride-hailing services, and were yet to recoup their investment, which will allow them to make payment.
Graphic Online is aware of a number of students, residing at the nearby community of Ayeduase, who have invested in bakery services to support their education.
“Recently, a pastor even called after hearing of the deadline to confirm whether a particular student [a church member] has made payment, but a check indicated that he has squandered the money,” the URO told Graphic Online.
Dr Bekoe added that the severity of the problem was such that some students use their fees to engage in online betting, especially on the English Premier League (EPL), and most of them have been running at a loss.
“The rules of the university are clear and they can only make a return next academic year if they are able to honour their obligation,” he said.
Fred Dzakpata
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