Review imposition of taxes on private universities — Rev Osei-Wusuh
Arku Jasmine
The President of the Ghana Baptist University College (GBUC), Rev. Dr Kojo Osei-Wusuh, has called on the government to seriously review the imposition of taxes on private universities to save some of the institutions from collapse.
He said the blanket imposition of taxes on private universities, which took off in May 2013, would undermine the contribution some of the institutions were making towards the promotion of tertiary education in the country.
Speaking at the 2013/2014 matriculation ceremony for 694 fresh students of the college in Kumasi last Saturday, Rev. Dr Osei-Wusuh expressed doubts that the taxes would add any significant revenue to the government kitty.
“The ultimate effect of the decision can only be inimical to the development of the country’s education and that is why the decision must be reviewed to encourage private universities to develop faster for the benefit of the country’s education,” he said.
Rev. Dr Osei-Wusuh explained that GBUC charged fees which were nowhere near what were charged by the public universities and it would, therefore, be a great injustice to tax the private institutions.
Stressing the importance of quality tertiary education, the GBUC president said it was key to the nation’s development for which reason it must be supported at all cost.
To the fresh students, he said matriculation presented a great opportunity for the realisation of their dreams to become the persons they wished to be in life.
He, therefore, challenged them to make good use of the opportunity to enable them to achieve their goals.
Rev. Dr Osei-Wusuh had a word for fresh students who reluctantly found themselves at the GBUC because they were not successful in gaining admission to public universities: “I want to ask such people to take heart, with the assurance that by dedication and hard work, you have the same opportunity, if not more, to achieve your educational goals here (GBUC) as in other universities in the world.”
By Kwame Asare Boadu/Daily Graphic/Ghana
He said the blanket imposition of taxes on private universities, which took off in May 2013, would undermine the contribution some of the institutions were making towards the promotion of tertiary education in the country.
Speaking at the 2013/2014 matriculation ceremony for 694 fresh students of the college in Kumasi last Saturday, Rev. Dr Osei-Wusuh expressed doubts that the taxes would add any significant revenue to the government kitty.
“The ultimate effect of the decision can only be inimical to the development of the country’s education and that is why the decision must be reviewed to encourage private universities to develop faster for the benefit of the country’s education,” he said.
Rev. Dr Osei-Wusuh explained that GBUC charged fees which were nowhere near what were charged by the public universities and it would, therefore, be a great injustice to tax the private institutions.
Stressing the importance of quality tertiary education, the GBUC president said it was key to the nation’s development for which reason it must be supported at all cost.
To the fresh students, he said matriculation presented a great opportunity for the realisation of their dreams to become the persons they wished to be in life.
He, therefore, challenged them to make good use of the opportunity to enable them to achieve their goals.
Rev. Dr Osei-Wusuh had a word for fresh students who reluctantly found themselves at the GBUC because they were not successful in gaining admission to public universities: “I want to ask such people to take heart, with the assurance that by dedication and hard work, you have the same opportunity, if not more, to achieve your educational goals here (GBUC) as in other universities in the world.”
By Kwame Asare Boadu/Daily Graphic/Ghana