The President of the University of Cape Coast Students’ Representative Council (SRC), David Boakye has stated that the rise in the school fees to be paid by students for the 2014/2015 academic year, is not the doing of the University of Cape of Coast but as a result of government’s directive.
According to him, the government has asked all public universities in Ghana to pay for their own utility bills since government can no longer cater for it and this has resulted in an upsurge in fees to be paid by students for the next academic year.
He said, a letter brought to the university stated that government will no longer pay utility bills for the institutions.
“In March this year, a letter from the ministry of finance was copied to all vice chancellors of government subvented universities, all rectors of polytechnics, then all principals of Nursing and training colleges. I was surprised to read that government was not going to pay for utility again so the universities should find ways to pay their own bills,” he stated.
He continued, “school fees are a problem and there is a huge component I want us to address. There is an eminent problem and if we don’t take care most of my colleagues will go home. I can feel that.”
Speaking to Samuel Kojo Brace of ATL FM on the programme; A week on campus, on Saturday, 17th May, 2014, David Boakye said representatives from ECG came to UCC last two weeks with a bill to collect money for January to March, 2014.
“Last two weeks they came here, and they came with a bill for UCC from January to March to collect their money,” he said.
According to him, the bill that was brought stated that the University of Cape Coast was to pay a total of almost eleven billion old cedis as electricity bill.
“And the bill they brought indicated that in January, the university had to pay 3.3 billion, February 3.41 billion, then March, 3.8 billion. So these three months alone, we were to give them almost eleven billion as electricity bill.
Mr. Boakye said since the university does not have any money making business, when government asks it to make arrangements to pay, it means that the university should take it from where it generates its money from, which is the fees.
Source:atlfmonline.com
