UG fee hikes are SRC charges, not management fees – Pro VC

Pro Vice-Chancellor (Academic and Student Affairs) of the University of Ghana, Professor Gordon Akanzuwine Awandare says the disputed fee increases at the University of Ghana stem from student leadership decisions, not management-imposed academic charges.

Prof. Awandare made the clarification on Citi FM’s Eyewitness News on Monday evening amid mounting controversy over recent fee adjustments at the university.

According to him, the increases cited in media reports relate to third-party fees approved and imposed by student bodies, including the University of Ghana Students’ Representative Council (UGSRC) and the Graduate Students’ Association of Ghana (GRASSAG).

“What is in the report is about third-party fees which were imposed by the student leadership,” he said. “So the increases are imposed by SRC and GRASSAG. These are not management fees.”

Prof Awandare explained that third-party fees are charges managed outside the university’s central administration and approved through internal student governance structures. He added that the leadership of the SRC and GRASSAG had formally communicated the adjustments to their members weeks earlier.

“They issued a letter to their colleagues more than two weeks ago to explain the fees they had imposed on them. These are fees that were approved through their channels,” he stated, urging students with concerns to engage their own representatives.

He questioned the intensity of the backlash, arguing that the amounts involved were modest relative to the university’s operational realities. “You have seen the fees. It’s about GH¢2,000, a university like the University of Ghana. Does anybody think those are serious fees?” he asked.

Prof Awandare also pointed to rising utility and operational costs, noting that most academic fees had remained unchanged since 2022. “Utilities just went up yesterday. How do we expect the university to manage with those fees, which were fixed in 2022?” he said, adding that student leaders themselves recognised the need for adjustments. “The students themselves realised that the fees were not realistic; that is why they increased their component.”

His comments come against the backdrop of a directive from the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission ordering the University of Ghana to reverse recent fee increases introduced without statutory approval. In a January 5, 2026, letter to the Vice-Chancellor, GTEC said it had been informed of about a 25 percent rise in fees and the introduction of new charges without clearance.

The Commission directed the immediate reversal of all increases, refunds for final-year students who overpaid, credits for continuing students, and a reversion of SRC and GRASSAG dues to last academic year’s approved rates. GTEC also ordered the suspension of newly introduced charges, warning of regulatory sanctions if compliance is not demonstrated by January 12.

The intervention follows weeks of student agitation, with first-year students in the College of Humanities reportedly facing increases of up to 34 percent.

Despite earlier explanations by the SRC, GTEC’s directive now places pressure on the university to regularise all fees in line with the law.