The Ghana Tertiary Education Commission has directed the University of Ghana to immediately reverse recent fee increases and suspend newly introduced charges for the 2025/2026 academic year, citing violations of statutory procedures that require parliamentary approval.
In a letter dated Jan. 5, 2026, addressed to the university’s vice chancellor, the commission said publicly funded institutions cannot unilaterally review student fees. “Informed by this, the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission, by this letter, requests the University of Ghana to do the following: reverse any fee increases and/or dues immediately; credit all continuing students who have overpaid compared to last Academic Year’s fees for the next Academic Year; refund the difference to final-year students who have paid in excess of the fees for last Academic Year; revert all dues, including SRC and GRASSAG dues, to last Academic Year’s rates; and suspend any new fees, such as the 75th Anniversary dues and Development Levy (if newly introduced), except for those that were already in place,” the commission wrote.
The directive follows widespread uproar last week after the university announced fee hikes of more than 25 percent across its colleges. University management defended the increases, saying they were largely the result of third-party charges imposed by student leadership rather than by the administration itself.
The commission’s letter, copies of which were sent to the Minister of Education, his deputy, the chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Education, the chairman of the Vice Chancellors of Ghana and the university’s director of internal audit, referred to an earlier communication dated Nov. 3, 2025. In that letter, GTEC warned that public tertiary institutions had “over the years, reviewed student fees without adhering to proper procedures, causing implementation difficulties.”
To ensure compliance with the Fees and Charges Act, the commission reminded universities that new fees for the 2025/2026 academic year “cannot be changed without prior approval from Parliament, as mandated by law.” Vice chancellors, it said, must maintain current student fees and only implement revised rates after parliamentary authorization.
The Jan. 5 letter noted that the University of Ghana had increased fees by 25 percent and, in some cases, introduced new charges without approval from the relevant authorities. The commission gave the university until Jan. 12, 2026, to provide evidence of compliance. “Failure will result in the Commission instituting SERIOUS REGULATORY SANCTIONS against the University of Ghana,” the letter warned.
Source: Daily Graphic
