3 months ago
20 ARTICLE AD
Two education experts have recommended that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) focus its proposed free academic user fee policy specifically on first-year students in public universities who are genuinely unable to pay the fees, rather than applying it universally to all students.
Dr Peter Anti, Executive Director of the Institute of Education Studies, and Mr Kofi Asare, Executive Director of African Education Watch, argued that a targeted strategy would prevent resource wastage and enhance funding efficiency.
The two, expressed their views on the policy during separate interviews with the Ghanaian Times yesterday.
The NDC launched its youth manifesto on Monday, outlining key policies the party intends to implement to improve various sectors of the country, including education and business.
Among the proposed initiatives is free tertiary education for first-year students of public universities, improvements to the Free Senior High School programme to include private schools, and the introduction of an insurance scheme for informal workers.
Dr Anti noted that targeting the policy at students who could not afford academic user fees would be more effective.
“We understand that the basic problem is that people gain admission and they are not able to access education because of financial challenges. But it is not all students that face that particular challenge,” he explained.
Dr Anti suggested the need for restructuring of the student loan system to address immediate financial needs upon admission.
“That is why we think that you will have to restructure the student loan in such a way that as soon as a student gains admission and he or she is facing financial challenges, he or she can present his or her admission letter and the student loan will take care of his admission fees,” he said.
Dr Anti also indicated that the focus should not be on the source of funding but on how the policy would benefit the youth.
He praised the NDC for launching the youth manifesto, particularly commending the proposed review of the Free Senior High School policy.
“The policies would prepare the youth for the future and also shape their aspirations when implemented,” he added.
While acknowledging the policy as a laudable idea that would lessen the burden on parents, Mr Asare cautioned against an open system.
“We must have a targeted regime of identifying students who are genuinely unable to afford the cost of tertiary and give them even more support than the waiver of academic facility user fees so that they can enter and complete,” he stated.
Mr Asare emphasised that the focus should be on how the funding would affect the entire education sector, including retention and completion rates in tertiary education.
“So, if you waive admission fees, what would happen in the second, third, and fourth year. We need to seek such proposals to take such needy students through tertiary. The conversation should be about the bigger picture, about retention and completion of tertiary education,” he explained.
He called for a comprehensive approach that considers support beyond the first year of study and stressed the importance of analysing how the policy would impact the overall education sector.
According to Mr Asare, this analysis would help in addressing some of the challenges faced by the government’s free SHS policy.
BY BENJAMIN
ARCTON-TETTEY
