The Director-General of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), Prof. Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai, has raised concerns about the growing reliance on fee-paying programmes in Ghana’s public universities, warning that this trend threatens access to higher education for students from low-income and disadvantaged backgrounds.
Speaking on the sidelines of the 7th Congregation of Dr. Hilla Limann Technical University and the investiture of its first female Vice-Chancellor, Prof. (Eng.) Hamidatu Darimani, on Saturday, December 13, 2025, Prof. Jinapor stated that evidence available to GTEC indicates that programmes traditionally fully subsidised are being increasingly converted into fee-paying ones—sometimes entirely.
He cautioned that the development risks overburden parents and students and undermine equity in tertiary education.
“Two wrongs do not make a right. If government support is inadequate, the solution is to engage the government. We cannot shift the burden to already overburdened parents and students,” he said, stressing the need for fair and balanced policies.
Prof. Jinapor noted that GTEC would not hesitate to issue directives if necessary to correct the situation.
Citing specific examples, he said some admission letters from the University of Ghana indicate that programmes such as Information Studies, Archaeology and even Medicine are now fee-paying.
According to him, access to Medicine in particular has become extremely difficult without opting for fee-paying slots.
“Historically, fee-paying was limited to distance, weekend and sandwich programmes for working professionals. Today, the quota is very small and must be properly justified. Students who score between aggregates 6 and 10 should not be made to pay fees, as many of them come from privileged schools,” he said.
He emphasised that students from deprived communities should not be made to shoulder the cost of public tertiary education.
On her part, the Vice-Chancellor of Dr. Hilla Limann Technical University, Prof. Hamidatu Darimani, announced that 723 students graduated from four faculties and schools.
Vice-Chancellor of Dr. Hilla Limann Technical University, Prof. Hamidatu Darimani
The number comprised 153 Bachelor of Technology (BTech) students and 570 Higher National Diploma (HND) students.
She appealed to the government for seed funding to support the university’s development agenda, saying this would improve infrastructure, including the completion of student hostels.
Prof. Darimani disclosed that work has begun on a 400-bed hostel project following a recent sod-cutting ceremony facilitated by the government and GTEC.
She expressed optimism that by the end of her tenure, the university would have renovated existing structures, beautified the campus, completed a perimeter wall and increased student enrolment in each faculty by at least 50 per cent.
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