CAPCOE Sounds Alarm Over Fee-Paying University Admission Offers To 2024 Batch of Free SHS Graduates

The Campaign Against Privatisation and Commercialisation of Education (CAPCOE) has expressed outrage over the admission procedures of state-sponsored universities in Ghana.

According to CAPCOE, their checks revealed that  70% of the 2024 batch of free SHS graduates who applied to various universities were offered fee-paying admission options, despite meeting the published cut-off points.

The group’s convener, Richard Kwashie Kovey, noted that these students, who are beneficiaries of the free SHS program, worked hard to obtain their grades and deserve access to tertiary education.

 

CAPCOE is calling on the Minister-Designate for Education, Honorable Haruna Iddrisu, to intervene and reverse the fee-paying admission offers to regular admissions.

Furthermore, CAPCOE is demanding an audit into the utilization of fee-paying funds collected by the universities and severe sanctions for any abuse of office or imposition of illegal fees on qualified students. The group threatens to protest against this “gross injustice” if their demands are not met.

 

 

Read the full statement below 

Reports reaching our desk from parents and further checks revealed that 70% of the 2024 batch of free SHS graduates with aggregates ranging from 14 to 8 are being offered fee-paying admission options into the various programmes, especially Science related programmes.

At the time of applying for admissions, the cut-out points published on the websites of these universities range from aggregate 14 to 9 for most programmes with few being aggregate 8.
Applicants who fall outside these points were given the option to choose fee-paying if they still want to pursue such programmes at all costs.

The sad reality is that applicants with aggregate 10, 9 and 8 met the requirements and applied as regular students and were hopeful of being picked to pursue their dream programmes. Unfortunately, they were disappointed as the Universities picked them and placed them on fee-paying options.

It is instructive to note that these applicants are beneficiaries of free SHS due to their inability to afford secondary education. Hence, the former president intervened and allow them to access secondary education free. They worked hard to obtain these grades.
It is therefore unacceptable for state-sponsored public Universities to denied them access to tertiary education on the grands of fee paying.

University is a place of higher education and higher learning and teachers in university must have the capacity to teach all learners irrespective of their background or learning disability.

It baffled one’s imagination to say that only leaners with aggregate 6 and 7 would be allowed to pursue ordinary programmes such as actuarial science, biochemistry, nursing, food science computer science etc.

Teachers at the basic level were made to believe that it takes only passion and deployment of differentiated teaching and to bring every learner up to speed irrespective of differences in their learning abilities. What prevents PhD teachers from teaching learners who already acquired ability of reading writing and arithmetic to acquired knowledge and skills in their chosen field of study.

We are of firm believe that these are attempts by university authorities to turn university education into a commercial hub for profit motives and to create a class society.

CAPCOE therefore is calling on the minister designate for Education honorable Haruna Iddrisu to act quickly to restore order in admission procedure in our state sponsored universities. All applicants with aggregate 14 and higher offered fee paying should be reversed to regular admissions and if possible, made to start free first year tertiary education.

We are also calling on the government to commission an audit into utilization of fee-paying funds collected by the universities.

Apply severe sanctions for abuse of office and imposition of illegal fees on qualified students.

This is to say if the universities have enough pace to take students for fee paying and train them in the same lecture hall and laboratory with the regular students then the issue of cut out points serves no purpose but to deny poor vulnerable innocent students’ admission into the various programmes of their choice.

We would not hesitate to hit the streets to protest against this gross injustice.
Thank you.

Signed
RICHARD KWASHIE KOVEY
Convener: Campaign Against Privatisation and Commercialisation of Education-CAPCOE
Greater Accra Regional Secretary- NAGRAT
0244176423/ 0509946391
Email: kwashiekovey@yahoo.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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