KNUST gives one month respite to fee-owing deferred students re-register

The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has given one month respite to some students who had their courses deferred over unpaid fees.

This follows an emergency meeting between the Minister of Education Dr Osei Yaw Adutwum and the university’s authorities on Friday April 22, 2022.

The Management of KNUST after the meeting announced that the school  have offered the defered students another lifeline to continue their courses with a grace period to pay at least 70 percent of their fee arrears before the final registration of their courses.

It  was earlier reported on Wednesday April 20, 3022  that about 6000 students in the tertiary institution have been compelled to defer their course due to their inability to pay their fees.

According to the University Relations Officer, Dr Daniel Norris Bekoe, students have channeled the resources to betting and other avenues such as Uber business to generate income.

“We [KNUST] are a human institution and we have been listening to the pleas of many stakeholders”, the University said.

“If a student pays up, management is ready to look at it. So, those who have paid 70 per cent have gone ahead to register for their courses. Definitely, we are not interested in getting students out of the university but we have bills to pay”, Dr Bekoe said.

Dr Bekoe also disclosed that some of the students have started paying their debts after the university made the announcement to defer their courses.

The university announced that students who owed more than 70 per cent of their school fees were to automatically defer their courses by 7 April 2022.

Despite the affected students having been allowed to sit their mid-semester exam which started on 11 April 2022, those who still had not paid up after the first exam week were forced to defer their courses.

The University Relations Officer, Dr Daniel Norris Bekoe, said on Wednesday, 20 April that there was the need to “apply the fees policy this year which has been approved by the academic board and it is required that as an undergraduate student you must register your courses at the beginning of the semester and pay 70%.”

Despite a three-month window – February to April – for students to fully pay up their arrears, Dr Bekoe said: “A number of students are playing games with the University”.

Speaking to OTEC News after the meeting, Education Minister, Dr Osei Yaw Adutwum, who espressed worry over the situation said his ministry have already laised with the school to find lzsting solutions to the problem.

He disclosed that, the Student Loan Trust Fund Secretariate have also been engaged to releases loans to the affected students.

He urged the students to take the intervention serious and apply for thr loan with alacrity to avoid been defered again.

Dr Adutwum assured the school, parents and students of governments support in ensuring that this menace is dealt with.

Source/ Ghana/otecfmghana.com/Jacob Agyenim Boateng