Pro Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana (UG), Prof. Gordon Awandare has said a legal interpretation is needed for which particular base figures public universities must use for the recent fee increments.

According to him, although universities have complied with the GTEC’s 15% increment for fees, various universities are using different base figures, which he said is the challenge.

He noted that the University of Ghana, for instance, is using the 2019-2020 approved fees since it was the last time government approved fees for tertiary institutions.

“We have complied already, let us not argue in circles. The difference is that the base figures we are using are different. There needs to be a legal interpretation of which base figure to use… We are using the 2019 approved fees. That was the last time fees were approved,” he said on Newsnight, Thursday.

He explained that the University did not charge the appropriate amount for fees when they were increased in 2019, hence, the reason it is charging more than the approved 15% fees.

“The reason we are relying on the law is that when the fees were increased, we did not apply the full increase, so were charging lower than what was approved but we are saying that we can no longer subsidise, so we go for what was approved…we believe it is within our right within the law…they did not tell us that it expires after 2019.”

He said the best students can do is to appeal to the school to forfeit its application of the 2019 approved fees rather than allege any illegality by the University.

Meanwhile, the Minister for Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum has directed the Management of the University of Ghana (UG) to comply with the 15 percent increment in tertiary fees.

The Education Ministry’s directive follows an engagement with all public universities on the tertiary fees brouhaha on Thursday.

According to the Ministry, its investigations proved that UG is implementing about a 37% increment of fees.

But Prof. Gordon Awandare said the University’s Council is yet to take a decision on the directive from the Ministry.

“This is for the Council to decide,” he stated.