TIG Post

Tag: National Union of Ghana Students

  • 2% reduction on fees a courtesy, not requirement – UG

    2% reduction on fees a courtesy, not requirement – UG

    The University of Ghana‘s (UG) administration has defended its decision to provide some of its students a 2% reduction on the 15% fee increase for the 2022/2023 academic year.

    Professor Ransford Gyampo who is a member of the University’s Communication Team said the criticisms of the public regarding the discount are unfair because the University approved the discount based on humanitarian grounds and not an obligation.

    There was an impasse between UG Management, student leaders, the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS), and the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) over the 15% increase in fees.

    The approved discount covers fee-paying programmes, programmes at the Accra City Campus and distance education programmes.

    Giving details on why the discount was approved on Eyewitness News, Prof. Gyampo said: “We were taken to the Parliamentary Select Committee on Education and the Committee convened a meeting comprising the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS), GTEC, and UG Management and the Parliamentary Select Committee on Education agreed that we had not charged any illegal fees but also appealed that we reduce the fees for the students especially fee-paying students. So this is purely a kind gesture by the University and not an obligation.”

    “This was just a kind gesture purely on humanitarian grounds and not an obligation at all and so the University had the liberty and discretion to use this gesture in the best way it thinks will help students and as I said, these are cohorts of students that are paying higher fees compared to the regular students and so Management and Council decided to give the discount to the fee-paying students,” Prof Gyampo added.

  • School fees hike: NUGS to petition parliament, others on December 28

    The National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) has announced it will today, Wednesday, December 28, 2022, submit a petition to all relevant stakeholders in tertiary education.

    The petition is against the recent increase in school fees at the various tertiary institutions in Ghana.

    The union will hence be at the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education, and the Parliament of Ghana, where it will present its petition.

    The union will later hold a press conference on the increase in fees at the various tertiary institutions.

    In a statement issued by NUGS on Friday, December 23, 2022, the union expressed worry over any form of an increase in fees.

    The union explained: “On 16 December 2022, the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission wrote to all stakeholders, setting the threshold for any increment to 15%”.

    “This was done in line with the Fees and Charges (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2022 (Act 1080), with the reasoning that fees had not been increased in the last three years, with some institutions submitting increment proposals over 100% to parliament.”

    The union disclosed that the “approval is applicable to all public tertiary institutions (public universities, technical universities, colleges of education) under GTEC.”

    It indicated: “Any attempt to increase fees above the stated threshold will be a contempt of Parliament.”

    The union, therefore, called on all institutions that “have illegally increased fees beyond the threshold to immediately reverse such increment.”

    It added that it will prepare a report to publish the names of such institutions and “take every legal and reasonable means to correct such injustice on Ghanaian students.”

  • Encourage students to be their own masters – Dr. Ben Asante

    Chief Executive Officer of Ghana National Gas Company Dr. Ben K.D Asante has disclosed that corporate private sector can only absorb students when the necessary tools are given to them before leaving school.

    He made this key disclosure at the Grand Convocation organized by the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) over the weekend.

    The Chief Executive Officer of the Gas Company was among the key speakers at the event to advise the youth to choose a career path for their future.

    He was lauded for his contribution to the corporate sector and academia, advising students to have the interest in whatsoever they decide to pursue because if the interest is not there, a career path will become difficult.

    According to the oil and gas engineer, the corporate private experience is totally different from that of school and authorities at the various universities must as a matter of seriousness adopt the school curriculum to encourage the students to be their own masters before they enter the corporate world.

    “Students can get First Class but the corporate world is different. The corporate sector doesn’t have enough spot for everyone so make sure that you look within yourself. Your attributes you have is not intellectual property. So students can be better prepared to meet the industry targets.

    “When you have to choose, be very sure you have the interest and your ability. Whatsoever you decide to do, be very sure you have the interest. Let say you decide to be an Uber driver, or a shoeshine person, don’t give up on your interest. Keep always at the back of your mind and keep pushing it to make sure that you get the available resources to be able to get the career of yours,” he emphasized.

    He added: “Being on both sides, I see a long gap between industry and academia and that we need to bridge that gap. If industry realizes that you need academia to enhance their bottom-line, if academia also realize that they need the industry, then their need to look at their curriculum, in such a way that will address the needs of the industry.”

    He also charged the industrial sector to go back to the schools to make sure that whatever their business plan or anything they do will cultivate enough intellectual blueprint to be able to expand or multiple.

    “I sit on both KNUST and UG board and I tell them to try their effort to bring together the industry and academia.”

     

  • Calm your students down, all payments will be made – Dr. Agyemang to NUGS members on scholarship

    The Registrar of the Ghana Scholarship Secretariat, Dr. Kingsley Agyemang, has called on the leadership of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) to calm their members as it prepares to pay their scholarships.

    According to him, the Secretariat has been working around the clock to make payments to all the students on their scheme.

    “Ghanaian students studying on government scholarships should keep calm; these arrears are not something usual in our operations ever since we took over, and I can assure you, we are working around the corner to end,” he assured.

    Dr. Kingsley Agyemang made this known when the leadership of NUGS paid a call on him to discuss, among other things, the issues of non-payment of scholarships to beneficiaries both at home and abroad.

    The President of NUGS, Dennis Appiah Larbi-Ampofo, who led the delegation, commended the Registrar of the Scholarship Secretariat for spelling out the challenges students on scholarships are currently facing.

    “Students studying on the government of Ghana scholarship are crying. For close to a year, a lot Ghanaian students on local and international scholarships by the Government of Ghana through the Scholarship Secretariat have not disbursed students’ bursaries to them. This has made it difficult for the students to fund their education due to the challenges confronting them as a result of this situation,” he said.

    He also indicated that some of their members have been receiving notices of eviction from their hostels and apartments, with many of them at high risk of being rendered homeless.

    Dr. Kingsley Agyemang admitted being very aware of these challenges but was quick to say that the global financial crisis has also been greatly affecting its operations.

    He, however, assured them that they would be attended to in the shortest possible time.

    “We have commenced payments of fees and in some areas stipends are also being paid. We have been engaging both the institutions and students to ensure we continue to keep our students in school. Let us continue to work as faithful partners and calm your students down as we sail through these challenges together,” he said.

    Source: Ghanaweb