The high cost of university education in Ghana has been blamed on successive governments doing very little to establish more public funded universities. New Patriotic Party MP for New Juabeng South, Beatrice Bernice Boateng said on Adom FM Tuesday that successive governments failed to place priority on university education, thereby overlooking the associated dangers. Madam Boateng’s comments come in the wake of complaints of extortion by some students of private universities whom are being asked to pay huge sums of money as the new semester begins. The students told had stated on Adom Fm’s Dwaso Nsem that what has become a supplementary burden to them is the huge penalty that they have to pay for being unable to meet stipulated deadlines. But the NPP MP said the system is outrageous, stating that “if the students had the money in the first place, they would have paid to avoid the penalty. If university education were to be that expensive during our time, I doubt if I will ever get to this stage in my life”, she lamented. She said the government must urgently put in measures to bear part of the burden of the students to enable them focus on their studies. Madam Beatrice Bernice Boateng who is also a member on the Parliamentary Select Committee on Education said the matter has come to the notice of the committee and that some work was being done. She however commended the NDC government for making the effort to add more state funded universities to existing ones. On Monday President Mills cut the sod for the beginning of construction works for the University of Health and Allied Sciences at Sokode in the Ho Municipality of the Volta Region. He has since arrived in Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo Region, to perform a similar function for the construction of University of Energy and Natural Resources. She urged President Mills to go beyond the sod-cutting ceremonies and make sure the structures are completed on time, for them to start admissions. Story: Jerry Tsatro Mordy/Adom FM