Education Minister directs University of Ghana to cut residential facility fees by 25%

The Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has directed the University of Ghana to reduce its residential facility fees by 25% for both first-year and continuing students.

The directive comes in response to the university’s recent 20% increase in accommodation fees, which raised the annual charge to GH₵3,000 for the 2024/2025 academic year. The fee adjustment sparked widespread discontent among students and parents, leading to calls for government intervention.

Speaking at a meeting with the university’s management and the Students’ Representative Council (SRC) at the ministry on Thursday, 6th February 2025, the minister announced that the reduction would lower the fee from GH₵3,000 to GH₵2,500. He also stated:

I have asked the Vice-Chancellor to reduce the residential facility fees by 25% and have also directed her to engage with the SRC in the future before announcing any fee adjustments.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Nana Aba Amfo assured the minister of the university’s compliance with the directive and emphasised the institution’s commitment to addressing student concerns.

We have listened to you, our minister, and also to our students, and we can afford to implement the 25% reduction across the board. Going forward, there will be better student engagement in such decisions.

Reacting to the announcement, SRC President Maradona Adjei Yeboah, popularly known as Guru, expressed gratitude for the fee reduction but insisted that students who had already paid the full amount should receive refunds.

We appreciate the reduction—it will ease some of the financial burden on parents. However, there should be a refund for those who have already made payments.

University management disclosed that approximately 80% of students had already paid their residential facility fees. The institution is expected to release further guidelines on how it will implement the revised charges.