The Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) has directed the management of the University of Ghana (UG) to immediately reverse all recent fee increases and newly introduced charges for the 2025/2026 academic year.
According to GTEC, public universities are not permitted to review or increase student fees without following due process, which includes obtaining Parliamentary approval as required by law.
The Commission emphasised that this requirement applies to all publicly funded tertiary institutions.
As a result, GTEC has instructed the University of Ghana to take the following actions:
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Credit continuing students who paid more than last academic year’s approved fees, with the excess applied to the next academic year.
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Refund final-year students who have paid fees exceeding those charged in the previous academic year.
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Revert all dues, including SRC and GRASSAG dues, to last academic year’s rates.
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Suspend any newly introduced fees, such as the 75th Anniversary dues and the Development Levy (if they were not previously in place), while maintaining only fees that already existed at last year’s rates.
These directives were contained in a letter dated January 5, 2026, addressed to the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana.
The letter followed public concerns raised last week after reports that the university had increased academic fees by over 25 per cent across all colleges for the 2025/2026 academic year.
In response to the backlash, university management explained that the fee increases were largely due to third-party charges imposed by student leadership, rather than decisions made by university authorities.
In its January 5, 2026 letter, which was copied to the Minister of Education, the Deputy Minister, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Education, the Chairman of the Vice-Chancellors of Ghana, and the Director of Internal Audit at UG, GTEC referred to an earlier letter dated November 3, 2025.
In that letter, the Commission noted that public tertiary institutions had repeatedly reviewed fees without following proper procedures, leading to implementation challenges.
GTEC reiterated that, under the Fees and Charges Act and its mandate to ensure effective and efficient management of tertiary education institutions, no new fees for the 2025/2026 academic year can be charged without prior Parliamentary approval.
The Commission therefore directed all Vice-Chancellors to maintain existing student fees and only implement revised fees after receiving Parliamentary approval.
Specifically addressing the University of Ghana, GTEC stated that it had been informed that the university increased fees by about 25 per cent and, in some cases, introduced new fees without the required approvals.
GTEC has given the University of Ghana until January 12, 2026, to provide evidence of full compliance with these directives. Failure to do so, the Commission warned, will result in serious regulatory sanctions against the university.
