Many UG Distance Learning students disappointed

Many students pursuing the distance learning programme at the University of Ghana (UG) have expressed disgust and disappointment at the University because of its inability to award them their degrees despite completing their academic work.

They claimed that since the inception of the programme during the 2007/2008 academic year, students had never been satisfied with the quality of service by the university and that more than half of them had not been graduated even though they had completed their studies.

They said since the university started the distance programme seven years ago, it could only graduate half of the pioneering batch, leaving some of them journeying to the UG daily to demand their certificates but ended in frustrations.

A female student who pleaded anonymity complained that the University had been negating the distance learning programme over the regular programme and this had created a serious stumbling block for the distance students.

She said she completed her academic work in 2011 and had been waiting for her certificate but anytime she went to the UG different stories were told while her colleagues who went to other universities for a similar programme received their certificates two years ago.

This development, according to her, has been compounded by the recent congregation which took place on the 8th and 9th of November without the inclusion of any distance learning student, despite the promise of a combined congregation of distance and regular students, thus creating more frustrations and disappointments.

Many of the students who spoke to the GNA appealed to the Ministry of Education and the government to investigate the ills and ineptitude associated with the University of Ghana distance programme to address the inefficiencies in order to shape the programme for the better.

Mr Moses Agamga, a teacher who completed the programme in 2011/2012 academic year, complained that he was yet to receive his certificates two years after completion and this had created psychological trauma because he had not been promoted and he could not advance in education.

When the GNA contacted Madam Stella Amoa, Director of Public Affairs of the University of Ghana (UG), she said some of the students might not have completed their academic work and so could not be graduated stressing that some challenges thwarted the efforts of the UG from carrying out a combined graduation of distance and regular students.

She said the issues bothering on the students were not general but peculiar to individual students, adding that she did not have answers to all the issues.