The University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) has initiated dialogues with political parties to examine their manifestoes and policy positions on critical national issues, with a focus on education, the economy, and environmental sustainability, particularly illegal mining.
The first of these engagements was held with the National Democratic Congress (NDC), UTAG said.
During the engagement with NDC, UTAG sought commitments to the party’s manifesto promises and demanded accountability on specific pledges.
“Various aspects of the NDC’s positions on education, the economy, and the environment were thoroughly discussed, with members requesting further details and clarifications.
“UTAG remains dedicated to ensuring that political parties prioritise education, economic development, and environmental preservation in their policy agendas. The Association plans to engage other political parties before the upcoming elections in December,” a communique issued after the fourth quarter meeting for 2024 at the Simon Diedong Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies (SDD-UBIDS) said.
The meeting was to discuss various critical concerns of members, organised by the National Executive Council.
Among the policy proplsas of the NDC in the education sector is the ‘no academic fees for level 100 students’ initiative.
The presidential candidate, while explaining the policy proposal said that the ‘no academic fees for level 100 students’ initiative will cost between 270 million and 290 million Cedis.
Addressing a gathering in Juapong on Tuesday, August 13, Mr Mahama said “we have costed it and we approximate that for all first-year students in public tertiary institutions, it should cost anywhere between 270 to about 290 million Ghana Cedis. Let me tell you something, the president, a few years ago, his travel budget in nine months amounted to 69 million Cedis, they held one cabinet retreat at the presidency, it cost almost 5 million Cedis.
“There is so much waste in the system and even if you look at the office of the president budget alone you will be able to cut to raise enough money to pay these academic facility user fees for all level hundred students. Do you know the budget for the office of the president? it is 2 billion Cedis every year, it is even now that IMF has come and they have cut it down, at a point it used to be 3 point something billion Cedis every year.”
He added “we do not want, especially in the first year when the students are coming in for the first time for them to go through what we call fee stress, that is why we call it a ‘no fee stress policy’ and so we are saying that we can absorb the academic user fee but it will not affect the subventions of governments to the universities and institutions of higher learning.