Dr Kofi Asare
Dr. Kofi Asare of Africa Education Watch has weighed in on National Democratic Congress (NDC) leader John Mahama’s recent pledge to eliminate Academic Facility User Fees (AFUF) for university students.
At the launch of their Youth Manifesto at UPSA, the NDC pledged to scrap first-year fees for university entrants.
This promise has been described by some as overly ambitious, but Asare argues that it would account for only approximately ten percent of the budget allocated for the Free Senior High School (SHS) initiative.
In a Facebook post, Asare detailed that 125,000 students were admitted to public universities for the 2022/23 academic year. With an average academic fee of GHC 2,200 per freshman, the total cost to eliminate these fees would amount to GHC 275 million annually.
According to Asare, this figure represents a mere ten percent of the existing Free SHS budget.
Kofi Asare believes that the initiative could help achieve the 40 percent enrollment target set by President Akufo-Addo, which was missed despite the Free SHS programme.
The post has sparked intense debate on social media, with critics questioning the practicality of Mahama’s proposal. The comment section of Asare’s post has been inundated with reactions from New Patriotic Party (NPP) supporters, who argue that the promise is unrealistic despite the party’s campaign slogan, “It Is Possible.”
As discussions continue, the feasibility of implementing such a policy remains a hot topic, with both supporters and detractors voicing their opinions on the potential impact and financial implications.
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