The University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) has asked Former President John Dramani Mahama, the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), for more details on his policy of waiving academic fees for level 100 students.
UTAG’s National President, Professor Mamudu Akudugu, said they seek to understand the proposal better so they can work on improving it.
“We believe that all these policies are very good intentions, our position is that we need to have a fuller picture of what is it that each of the parties is planning for tertiary education space.
So when the news of the fee waiver for all level 100 students came up we asked for further and better particulars, at least it is emerging that a number of other things are happening.
“They talk about the increment in subventions and the rest but beyond that, we will want to have a fuller picture of the whole situation, and what we want to do in the tertiary education space.
“There are issues of infrastructure, there are issues of lecture recruitment and quality issues and so we see it as good news but then we have to do further analysis and see how we can make it better.
The idea is to see how best we can work with whatever proposition they are making to work better, that is all that there is that we are looking for,” he said on the Ghana Tonight show on TV3 Wednesday, August 14.
Professor Mamudu Akudugu noted that while some students do need financial assistance, it is challenging to determine exactly how many genuinely require help.
He mentioned that even if only a few students need support, it is still important to provide it.
On the Ghana Tonight show on TV3 on August 14, Prof. Akudugu suggested that the “no academic fees for level 100 students” policy should be targeted at those who truly need financial aid.
He argued that a blanket implementation of this initiative may not be the best approach.
“Of course, there are students who are genuinely having financial constraints and cannot pay but as to how many of them they are we can’t tell as of this time.
“But even if it is just five students it is worth giving them support but that is why we also think that proper targeting of students who really need support to have a university education should be the way to go rather than the wholesale implementation of this policy,” he stated.
