GTEC directs UG to reverse academic fee increment
The Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) has directed the University of Ghana (UG) to immediately reverse recent academic fee increases imposed without the required statutory approvals.
In a letter dated January 5, 2026, and addressed to the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, GTEC said it had been informed that the university had increased fees by about 25 per cent and, in some cases, introduced new charges without clearance from the relevant authorities, as mandated by law.
The letter was signed and issued on January 5, 2026, by the Director-General of GTEC, Professor Ahmed Jinapor and addressed to the Vice Chancellor of UG and copied to the Minister of Education, Deputy Education Minister, Chairman, Parliamentary Select Committee on Education, the Auditor-General, Audit Service, the Chairman, Vice Chancellors, Ghana and the Director of Internal Audit, UG.
Directive
The letter directed the university to reverse all fee increases and dues immediately and to credit continuing students who have already paid amounts exceeding last academic year’s fees in the next academic year.
For final-year students who have overpaid, the commission ordered that the excess amounts be refunded.
The commission further instructed the university to revert all dues, including SRC and GRASSAG charges, to last academic year’s approved rates.
It further ordered the suspension of any newly introduced fees, including the 75th Anniversary dues and the Development Levy, where applicable, unless such charges already existed.
Even in those cases, the commission directed that the amounts must be pegged to last year’s academic year levels.
“You are hereby requested to provide GTEC with evidence of compliance not later than January 12, 2026,” the letter warned, adding that “failure will result in the commission instituting serious regulatory sanctions against the University of Ghana.”
The directive follows weeks of student agitation over new and increased fees. Media reports indicate that first-year students in the College of Humanities face academic fee increases of about 34 per cent, while continuing students are paying roughly 27 per cent more.
UG SRC
Earlier, the University of Ghana Students’ Representative Council (UG SRC) attempted to justify some of the third-party fee adjustments.
In a December 16, 2025, statement, the SRC attributed the changes to administrative errors, rising utility costs and the need to finance a proposed hostel project.
On the Telecel data charge, the SRC admitted that a GH ₵312 fee applied to some students was an error.
“This is an error which the Finance Directorate is working tirelessly to rectify as soon as possible,” the council said, explaining that affected students should either pay GHc 122.64 for the year or nothing if they opted out.
UGSRC President Larbi Ofori Richmond defended an additional GH₵200 levy for a planned SRC hostel, arguing that it reflects long-term planning.
“There has been a need to increase the hostel levy to meet the rising cost of construction materials,” he said, adding that the facility is expected to accommodate about 15,000 students at affordable rates.
Despite those explanations, GTEC’s intervention now places the responsibility squarely on the university’s management to roll back the increments and regularise all fees in line with the law.
