The National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) have backed calls by the Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga for government to scrap admission fees and tuition fees for tertiary students for the 2021 Academic year.
Mr Mahama Ayariga, requested the permission of the Speaker of Parliament, to move a motion for the government to suspend payment of admission fees by new entrants into public tertiary education institutions and continuing students of those institutions for the 2021 academic year.
This he said, would form part of government’s National COVID relief programmes.
He argued, that many parents have lost their jobs due to the economic consequences of the outbreak of COVID-19, which has necessitated government granting subsidies on the provision of water and electricity.
“The hospitality sector have been hard hit, workers of private schools in the education sector have not earned income close to a year. Border towns like Bawku have suffered economically from the restrictions in cross border movements and trading”, he said.
But reacting to this development, the Secretary for Education of the National Union of Ghana Students, Stallon Okine Nii has supported the crusade by the Member of Parliament.
In a statement released by the secretariat, they described as gratifying, the move by Mr Mahama Ayariga.
He explained, that this issue is a longstanding matter that the secretariat has been pursuing. “We have administered a petition on the matter and duly submitted it before the presidency through the Unions’ president, Isaac Jay Hyde. It is worth noting, that we didn’t get the desired response from the office of the president”.
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Stallon Nii Okine further added, that the inability of the Students Loan Trust Fund to disburse loans to majority of the students in need of critical attention at this period, have adversely affected teaching and learning.
READ FULL STATEMENT BELOW;
It is gratifying to see the Hon Member of Parliament for Bawku Central speak to a very critical matter of great interest to students across the country.
This is a longstanding matter that we at the National Union of Ghana Students have been pursuing. We have administered a petition on the matter and duly submitted it before the presidency through the unions’ president (Isaac Jay Hyde). It is worth noting that, we didn’t get the desired response from the office of the president.
This and other related matters like the inability of the Students Loan Trust Funds to shell out loans to the majority of the students in need of these loans are issues that need critical attention at this period in our lives as students.
Furthermore, the emergency of Covid-19 at the beginning of the second semester of the 2019/2020 academic year placed a serious financial burden on students as they had to purchase data bundles to catch up with online lessons although they had already settled their academic facility user fees for that year.
The Education Secretary for the National Union of Ghana Students writes to hobnob and endorse the Motion being put forward by the Honourable MP. And that, we expect the President as listening as he has always been, to place drastic measures to heeding to our request of a 50% slash of tertiary students academic facility user fees for the 2020/2021 academic year
Signed….
Stallon Okine Nii Nugs Sec. For Education 0246066089
Source: Ghananewspress.com
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