Legon SRC rejects fees.

The Students Representatives Council (SRC) of the University of Ghana rejected the recent increase in fees by the University authorities. They are requesting the authorities to revise it. Already, negotiations have begun with the University authorities in this regard. According to the SRC Secretary, Mr Daniel Adjei, the SRC was working hard to exhaust all avenues possible to help them express their views.

In an interview in Accra on Monday, Mr Agyei indicated that SRC would hold a press conference soon to inform the student body on what they would pay. He said the SRC accepted the fact that if students needed quality education certain fees should be charged but it was of the view that the University authorities should have had discussions with the student body before taking such a decision.

He explained that even though the student leadership was consulted, the deliberation at that time centred only on the increment of examination fess from ?100,000 to ?200,00 and that they expected the increases to be gradual. ''This was debated upon but nothing conclusive was arrived at”, he said. Furthermore, Mr Agyei said the inclusion of medical fees was to them because students paid for medical services rendered to them.

''Last year, the government paid 30 percent of the fees and this year, we are anticipating that it would do the same'', he said. Mr Adjei explained that some students depended on their parents while others paid fees on their own, using their meagre student's loan. Last year, he said statistic showed that the average expenditure of students was ?4.2 million but the students' loan was only ?1.5 million. He added that students used their meager loan for photocopy, feeding, medical and other expenses.

Even though students were not in favour of the new fees were not planning any ''aluta'' pending the outcome of the deliberations. According to a lecturer, ''the increment is in order considering the cost of things'' He said the University was burdened with payment of allowances to Hall Tutors and Supervisors, printing of question papers and other stationeries.

The lecturer was of the view that since the halls of residence were being operated semi-private, funds should be generated for repairs and maintenance. He explained that students misused certain facilities like electricity in the halls and suggested that if they wanted a reduction in fees, then ''they must reduce wastage''.

He, however, suggested that the authorities should allow students to pay installments, adding that it could be spread over a specific period. The lecture said philanthropists can occasionally adopt some students who genuinely cannot afford the fees. Some students described the increment as being too high.