The new policy directive by the National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE) and the National Accreditation Board (NAB) that pegs cut-off grades for university admission at 'D and C6' for Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSSCE) and West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) holders, respectively, has been criticised by the Conference of Heads of Private Universities, Ghana (CHPUG). The heads of private Universities say the policy has the potential of crippling access to University education in the country, especially for students from underprivileged schools. “With this new directive, both the public and private Universities in Ghana will have no choice, but deny access to tertiary education to thousands of young Ghanaians,” the Vice-Chancellor of Wisconsin International University College, Prof. Kaku S. Konoe, said. Addressing a press conference in Accra on Wednesday, Prof.Konoe said the implementation of the directive had a major implication for the nation. “It excludes the youth from deprived communities from access to university education. Such a situation will make tertiary education in Ghana more and more elitist,” he added. Under the new policy directive issued by the NCTE and the NAB, mature applicants to the country's universities could only be admitted if they possessed passes in English Language and Mathematics at the senior high school level. Prof. Konoe, flanked by some of the vice chancellors and presidents of private Universities in the country, said, “Mature students who have no chance of attending senior high schools will be denied access to University education.” The CHPUG consists of 25 Universities which provide education for some 50,000 students. Prof. Konoe said private Universities had made significant contributions to the country's educational system by providing access to tertiary education for thousands of Ghanaians who might not have gained access to public universities. He noted that it was regrettable that the NAB and the NCTE were unwilling to constructively engage the private universities in formulating policies affecting tertiary education in Ghana, adding that the new directive was not progressive. He said the directive was not based on any research and challenged the two regulatory bodies to come up with any such research if it existed. According to him, the resolve of the two regulatory bodies to review the policy is not because the private universities admit students with poor grades, but rather to ensure that university education is made available to all Ghanaians. Prof. Konoe said although the CHPUG had submitted a position paper on the issue to the NCTE and a petition to the Minister of Education, “no response has been received”. Source: Daily Graphic