The Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) has directed the University of Ghana (UG) to immediately reverse all fee increases and newly introduced charges for the 2025/2026 academic year.
In a letter dated January 5, 2026, and signed by the Director-General of GTEC, Prof. Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai, the Commission said publicly funded universities are not permitted to review or introduce student fees without following laid-down procedures, including obtaining Parliamentary approval as required by law.
GTEC has consequently ordered UG to credit continuing students who paid more than the previous academic year’s fees, while final-year students who have overpaid are to be refunded the difference.
The Commission further instructed the university to revert all dues, ncluding SRC and GRASSAG charges, to their 2024/2025 rates and to suspend any new fees, such as the 75th Anniversary levy and any newly introduced Development Levy, unless such charges were already in existence.
The directive follows public backlash last week after UG announced fee increases of more than 25 per cent across its colleges for the 2025/2026 academic year. University management later explained that the increments were largely driven by third-party charges imposed by student leadership, rather than decisions by the university itself.
However, GTEC, in its letter to the Vice-Chancellor of UG, said it had been informed that the university went ahead to increase fees and introduce new charges without securing approval from the relevant authorities.
The letter, sighted by Metro TV, was copied to the Minister of Education, the Deputy Minister, the Chairman of Parliament’s Select Committee on Education, the Chairman of Vice Chancellors Ghana (VCG), and the Director of Internal Audit at UG.
GTEC also referenced an earlier correspondence dated November 3, 2025, in which it expressed concern that public tertiary institutions have, over the years, reviewed fees without complying with statutory requirements, leading to implementation challenges.
The Commission reiterated that under the Fees and Charges Act, no new fees for the 2025/2026 academic year can be charged without prior Parliamentary approval, and urged Vice-Chancellors to maintain existing fee levels until such approval is obtained.
The University of Ghana has been given up to January 12, 2026, to provide GTEC with evidence of full compliance with the directive.
