We couldn’t ignore students’ anger over UG fees – Dr. Apaak

Deputy Minister for Education, Dr. Clement Abas Apaak, says the government stepped in on the University of Ghana (UG) fee hikes because growing anger from students and parents could not be ignored.

Dr. Apaak made the remarks on Citi FM’s ‘Eyewitness News’ while explaining why the Ministry of Education directed the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) to intervene and suspend the controversial increases.

The former University of Ghana student said the ministry intervened in the public interest.

“We thought that the best thing was to instruct GTEC to call the university to stay any increase so that we can have a dialogue to understand the justification because the level of public outcry from students and parents was such that we couldn’t have ignored,” he stressed.

He disclosed that the process began after the Minister for Education instructed him over the weekend to engage GTEC to understand reports of a 25 percent increment in academic fees at the University of Ghana.

“Over the weekend, the Minister instructed me to get in touch with GTEC to understand the 25% increment in academic fees,” Dr. Apaak said. “Subsequent to that, we became aware that the University of Ghana had made a public statement through its Pro VC that the increases were as a result of third-party increases.”

According to him, the Ministry also took note of explanations issued by the University of Ghana Students’ Representative Council (UGSRC), which sought to justify some of the increments.

However, Dr. Apaak stressed that beyond explanations, the legal framework governing fees could not be overlooked. He pointed out that Parliament had not approved any fee increases under the Fees and Charges Act, making the situation legally problematic.

“Given that we work with laws and there are processes and procedures, and the fact that Parliament had not granted an increase through the Fees and Charges Act, we thought that the best thing was to instruct GTEC to call the university to stay any increase,” he explained.

He said the decision was also influenced by the scale of public reaction. “The level of public outcry from students and parents was such that we couldn’t have ignored it,” Dr. Apaak noted.

As a result, he said the Education Minister has tasked him to lead engagements among all affected parties. “The Minister has assigned me to work with the University of Ghana, the student leaders and GTEC for us to look at something that will be acceptable,” he said, adding that dialogue remains the preferred path.

Earlier on the programme, the Pro Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Professor Gordon Akanzuwine Awandare, argued that the increases in question were not management-imposed academic fees but third-party charges approved by student leadership.

“What is in the report is about third-party fees which were imposed by the student leadership,” Prof. Awandare said, adding that SRC and GRASSAG used their own governance structures to approve the charges.

Despite that explanation, Dr. Apaak’s comments signal the government’s determination to pause the increases and seek a resolution that addresses both legal requirements and public concerns.