The management of the University of Ghana (UG) has moved to distance itself from the controversial 25% hike in academic fees for the 2025/2026 academic year.

University authorities contend that the staggering increments—which have seen some freshman bills jump by over 30%—are almost entirely driven by third-party levies introduced by student governance bodies, not the central administration.

The clarification aims to defuse a brewing crisis on the Legon campus, where provisional fee schedules recently revealed that Level 100 Humanities students are now expected to pay GH¢3,110, up from GH¢2,319 last year.

Speaking in an interview with Citi News, the Pro Vice-Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs, Professor Gordon Awandare, emphasised that the university has limited oversight over the specific charges added by the Students’ Representative Council (SRC) and the Graduate Students’ Association of Ghana (GRASAG).

“What is being reported as fee increases relates to third-party fees imposed by student leadership. These are fees approved through their own governance structures and communicated to students over two weeks ago. University management did not impose these fees. If students have issues with these charges, they should take them up with their SRC or GRASAG leadership. These fees are meant to support student programmes and activities,” Professor Awandare explained.

The university administration insists that students should look inward at their elected representatives, who allegedly adjusted their own funding components to reflect the rising costs of running student unions and legacies.

According to the university's breakdown, the total third-party component has swelled significantly this year. While the core academic facility user fee has remained relatively stable, the auxiliary levies have reached new heights.

For postgraduate students, the GRASAG components similarly include a Development Levy (GH¢250) and the Legacy Project (GH¢100), totalling GH¢385 in third-party additions.

Despite the outcry, Professor Awandare argued that the base fees charged by Ghana’s premier university are still "modest" when weighed against the current economic climate of high inflation and soaring utility costs.

“When you look at the fees—about GH¢2,000 for an entire academic year at Ghana’s premier university—it is difficult to describe them as excessive. Utilities and operational costs have increased significantly, yet university fees have largely remained unchanged since 2022. Even the students themselves recognise that the previous fee levels were no longer realistic under current economic conditions, which is why they have adjusted their component of the fees to match the cost of running their activities,” he added.

Management highlighted that while the university has absorbed rising costs for two years, student leaders concluded that their specific programmes—such as the ambitious SRC Hostel Development project—could no longer be sustained without a significant revenue boost.