The Ministry of Education has convened a high-level stakeholder meeting to address the ongoing dispute over recent University of Ghana fee increases amid students’ disapproval and regulatory intervention.
The meeting, held in Accra on Thursday, January 8, 2026, brought together the University of Ghana Governing Council Chairperson Marrita Brew, Vice-Chancellor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, Pro Vice-Chancellor Prof. Gordon Akanzuwine Awandare, leaders of the University of Ghana Students’ Representative Council (UGSRC) and GRASSAG, as well as Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) boss Prof. Abdulai Jinapor.
It was chaired by Deputy Minister for Education Dr Clement Abas Apaak, who has been tasked by the Education Minister to lead engagements aimed at finding a legally compliant and broadly acceptable resolution.
The meeting follows weeks of intense backlash from students and parents after reports of academic fee increases of about 25 per cent, with some first-year students facing hikes of up to 34 per cent. Continuing students were reported to be paying roughly 27 per cent more.
Dr Apaak earlier explained that the ministry’s intervention was unavoidable.
“The level of public outcry from students and parents was such that we couldn’t have ignored it,” he said on Citi FM’s Eyewitness News.
He stressed that any fee adjustment must comply with the Fees and Charges Act, noting that Parliament had not approved an increase.
“Given that we work with laws and there are processes and procedures, the best thing was to instruct GTEC to call the university to stay any increase,” he added.
The University of Ghana, through Pro Vice-Chancellor Prof. Awandare, has maintained that the disputed charges were largely third-party fees approved by student leadership rather than management-imposed academic fees.
“What is in the report is about third-party fees which were imposed by the student leadership,” he said, arguing that rising utility costs made some adjustments unavoidable.
GTEC, however, has taken a firm regulatory position. In a January 5, 2026, letter to the Vice-Chancellor, the commission ordered an immediate reversal of all fee increases and newly introduced charges made without statutory approval.
It directed refunds for final-year students who overpaid and credits for continuing students, while reverting all dues, including SRC and GRASSAG charges, to last academic year’s approved rates.
“You are hereby requested to provide GTEC with evidence of compliance not later than January 12, 2026,” the commission warned, cautioning that failure would attract serious regulatory sanctions.
The UGSRC has previously attempted to justify some third-party fee adjustments, citing administrative errors, higher utility bills and the need to finance a proposed SRC hostel project.
SRC President Larbi Ofori Richmond said an additional ₵200 levy was intended to support long-term accommodation needs, adding that the planned facility could house about 15,000 students at affordable rates.
Thursday’s meeting is expected to harmonise these competing positions and ease tensions as stakeholders work toward a solution that balances student welfare and adherence to the law.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
