Former President of the Junior Common Room (JCR) of Mensah Sarbah Hall, Joshua Nii Tackie Essel, has said that the Students Representative Council (SRC) of the University of Ghana has failed the students.

He said the SRC's handling of the recent challenges students have been faced with on campus leaves much to be desired.

Recently, some issues have plagued students of University of Ghana such as clash between residents of Mensah Sarbah Hall and Commonwealth Hall, 15% fee increment charges, and the suspension of some Commonwealth Hall former executives, among others.

Speaking on Prime Morning concerning the fee increment, the former President indicated that the SRC, as the students’ authority, failed to represent them by not negotiating on their behalf.

"Obviously, there’s no way every other student can just walk up to Management and then make their cases known. Reason why, there’s leadership, and I think that the SRC of the University has really failed the students on many fronts," he said to Roselyn Felli.

He said the University admitted some freshers for the 2022/2023 academic year in December with a reporting date in January, but "the SRC did nothing about it."

He also cited the takeover of Ugel Halls by Cal Bank.

Adding to the conversation, Dayan Akpene Ama Green, who is the Coordinating Secretary for the University Students’ Association of Ghana, blamed the JCR for failing to speak for the students concerning the increase in hall fees.

According to her, the executives of the various halls receive information about any increment before the whole student body. This, she said, could be negotiated for a reduction before its publication.

"I believe that the JCR too has a responsibility in the Junior Common Room of the traditional halls because, before the fees come out, I believe they’re aware, and so being an advocate for students goes way beyond speaking to management about the plight of students. Talking to them and negotiating with them to reduce some of the fees," she indicated.

Ms. Green also stated that since the increment in 2020 during the COVID period, there has not been any reduction, which she thinks the executives could negotiate for, but they failed.