'Fee-paying policy legal'

July 29, 2011 (Page 3 Lead)

THE Supreme Court yesterday declared that the full-fee paying policy of Ghanaian public universities was not discriminatory under the 1992 Constitution. In a unanimous decision, the court held that the policy had rather made it possible for more qualified students to gain admission to public universities under the current 10 per cent quota allocated to foreign students, adding, ÒFull fee-paying policy must continue.Ó It also affirmed that 28 per cent of the total revenue of public universities was generated from fees collected from fee-paying students, pointing out that those students were currently subsidising the education of non-fee paying students. The court, accordingly dismissed an action filed by the Federation of Youth Associations of Ghana (FEDYAG) against the public universities and the Attorney-General which sought a declaration that the full-fee paying policy of Ghanaian public universities was unconstitutional and discriminatory under the Constitution. The FEDYAG instituted the action through its lawyer, Mr Dennis Ofosuapea, claiming that the public universities had been ÒsellingÓ spaces to people based on their economic status and not their intellectual abilities. The public universities, represented by Mr Ace Anan Ankomah and Mr Kwesi Fynn, however, argued that admissions were generally based on how much subvention the government made available to them each year, adding that it was over and above the quota determined by government subventions, that spaces were made available to foreign students, Ghanaian nationals resident abroad and Ghanaian students who had qualified but did not receive admission because they could not be covered by the government subvention. They also argued that the money earned from the full-fee paying students constituted 28 per cent of their overall income and that that money had gone to support non-fee paying students and provided scholarships for students from deprived senior high schools. The panel of nine judges, headed by Mr Justice W.A. Atuguba, declared that the full-fee paying policy was justified and achieved a constitutionally valid purpose because it was one of the means by which the universities had been able to offer education to others. The ruling, read on behalf of the panel by Mrs Justice Sophia Adinyirah, disagreed with the plaintiff and, accordingly, averred that the plaintiff did not understand how the fee-paying system worked. It also held that the plaintiff could not substantiate its claims that the fee-paying policy was discriminatory and not transparent. According to the court, the universities were able to fully articulate and justify with statistics how the fee-paying system worked and also justified that admissions were purely based on merit and not ability to pay. The court further stated that the fee-paying policy was not unprecedented, since it was practised in other African countries and world-wide. It stated that apart from bare assertions made by the plaintiff, it failed to offer any further proof of its case, adding that although Article 25 of the Constitution demanded same or equal chances for educational advancement to Ghanaians, it recognised inherent limitations based on the capacity of the student and the availability of educational facilities. The ultimate object of Article 25, according to the court, was free education by gradual introduction, holding that under Article 38, educational objectives could only be implemented by Òthe availability of resourcesÓ. The court was of the view that the reality was that education came with costs, such as in infrastructure, pointing out that Ghana could not provide free tertiary education in the shortest time possible. It, therefore, suggested the award of more grants, insurance and adequate student loans to enable more students to access university education. The President of the panel, Mr Justice Atuguba, congratulated the FEDYAG on instituting the action and said the fact that its action had failed did not mean it had not served the country well. Other members of the panel were Ms Justice Sofia Akuffo, Mr Justice S.A. Brobbey, Mr Justice Julius Ansah, Ms Justice Rose Owusu, Mr Justice Annin Yeboah, Mr Justice N.S. Gbadegbe and Mrs Justice Vida Akoto-Bamfo.