The Deputy Minister for Education, Clement Apaak, has assured students who paid academic fees above approved limits that they will receive refunds or have the excess amounts credited to their academic records.

He gave the assurance when he appeared before Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee on Monday, following concerns raised by students over what they describe as a significant increase in academic fees.

According to Mr. Apaak, students who made payments beyond the amounts officially communicated to the public and to universities through the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission will not lose their money.

“Any student who made payments above and beyond what we have communicated to the public and to the universities through GTEC will receive a refund, or at the very least, their academic records will be credited with any outstanding balances,” he said.

He urged affected students to monitor their academic records closely, noting that reversals or credits should begin reflecting by the end of the week or early the following week.

“Should students notice by the end of this week or going into the end of next week that no such reversals or credits have reflected on their records, they should inform us, and we will alert GTEC to address the issue,” Mr. Apaak added.

The assurance follows widespread complaints by students over provisional fee schedules that indicate sharp increases affecting both fresh and continuing students.

In response to the concerns, university managements have explained that the increases are largely due to fees imposed by the Students’ Representative Council (SRC) and the Graduate Students’ Association of Ghana (GRASAG) to fund their activities.

Meanwhile, GTEC has released the officially approved fee structure for the University of Ghana for the 2025/2026 academic year to address public concerns and clarify the university’s charges.

In a statement issued on Monday and signed by Director-General Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai, GTEC said the Academic Facility User Fee will remain unchanged from the 2024/2025 academic year.

The Commission explained that the decision is aimed at easing financial pressure on students and ensuring consistency in fee administration. Under the approved structure, students will pay SRC dues of GH₵50, an SRC Development Levy of GH₵150, and a GRASAG Development Levy of GH₵250. Undergraduate students, including freshmen, will also pay a Telecel Broadband Levy of GH₵122.

In addition, GTEC approved a one-off 75th Anniversary Levy of GH₵100, which will apply only to the 2025/2026 academic year and will not be repeated.