Our varsity students at crossroads!
These are not the best of times for students in our public universities. Apart from paying very astronomical academic user fees in addition to fees for accommodation, there are strong indications that they may be asked to pay for the electricity they use while on campus.
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Certainly dumsor has affected every facet of our national life. Over the past few years, electricity generation and distribution have emerged as the greatest challenge facing us as a nation. Never in the history of this country has one single factor almost brought a whole nation down to its knees.
Akosombo can no longer supply all our energy needs. We have to resort to other means of energy supply to keep our major industries running and to also satisfy those in small-scale businesses such as barbers, dressmakers, tailors, cold store operators and bakers.
In addition, we need enough power to run our homes. Nobody wants to live in the dark. We need electricity to make us feel comfortable at home. Our fridges must keep running to preserve our foods and provide us with cold drinks, especially when it is hot outside, while we have to stay glued to our television sets for entertainment until it is time to go to bed.
There are so many others who need electricity for their computers throughout the day.
Since Akosombo can no longer do everything for us we have to rely on other means of energy generation which run mainly on gas and oil which we are told are much more expensive than hydro energy.
It is this situation that has led to the rationing of power over the past few years resulting in load shedding. The Bui dam has not been able to do much to save the situation. The government has, therefore, been doing the best it can to keep the country on its feet by providing other means of energy.
No dumsor by New Year
Now we have been told by the Minister for Power, Dr Kwabena Donkor, that there will be no more dumsor by the New Year. Which means that by the end of the year 2015, all the efforts by the government to increase our energy supply would have yielded dividends for us to forget about load shedding.
However, at the same time, we are being told that the cost of the additional energy supply, because, it runs on gas and oil, will be higher. This means we should all be ready to pay more for the new bliss we shall soon be enjoying.
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has, however, kicked against any high increase in tariffs, saying that the ordinary Ghanaian will be over burdened by any attempt to be asked to pay more for electricity.
Meanwhile in the web we have found ourselves, many public institutions, including our universities, polytechnics and health facilities have been caught panting with heavy bills to pay for electricity.
It is the government that has been paying electricity bills for these public institutions, including universities and polytechnics. Unfortunately electricity bills for the universities have been rising, running into hundreds of thousands of cedis and even millions.
It appears very soon the government may not be able to find money to foot the bills of these institutions. Already some of these institutions such as Accra Polytechnic have had their electricity disconnected by the ECG.
Students kick against payment
It is this situation that has compelled the Vice Chancellors of Ghana to call on the students to be ready to foot part of the electricity bills. As must be expected the students have kicked against any attempt to compel them to pay for the electricity they use.
I really pity our students in the public institutions. Over the years they have been called upon to pay part of the cost of their education because of the high cost in training them to become graduates. They have always protested against paying anything for their education but to no avail.
When the University of the Gold Coast opened its doors to students in 1948 it was free to all those who qualified to enter the university. And there were only a few of them, in the hundreds.
With independence in 1957 and Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah’s programme of accelerated development, things were even rosier for those who found themselves at the University of Ghana; Nkrumah’s dream was to produce more manpower to replace the departing colonialists.
Again Nkrumah was looking beyond Ghana and with his major dream of total emancipation of the African continent, he made education free also for all people of African descent. In addition, allowances were provided for students to help them buy books and to take care of other needs.
This was the situation we met when my generation entered the University of Ghana in 1967. We thought we were in paradise. But those who had come before us used to pity us. They told us things had deteriorated. But still we believed we were very, very comfortable. Even if cars were not readily available upon graduation, at least the jobs were there.
Disappearing goodies
As the years rolled by, all the goodies started disappearing. First the allowances were removed in the mid-70s but tuition, accommodation and feeding remained free. The student population began to bloat and it was becoming increasingly impossible for the government to take care of all the needs of students.
Before one could say “jack” students were being asked to pay academic user fees while feeding of students was no longer free. Students started buying their own food at the dining halls until the kitchens were rendered obsolete.
Students did not accept the payment of academic user fees without a fight. Students, whose parents were paying more for their education at the secondary school, were now claiming to be poor and could not afford their university education.
When the payment of academic user fees was introduced over a decade ago, it was meant to improve facilities as the student population continued to rise. It started with about 200 old cedis the (about GH¢20.00 today) per student per session. Today it has risen to over GH¢1,000.00 per student per session and one does not hear about complaints from students. Apart from this, the students feed themselves and also pay for their accommodation.
Will the students, in the circumstances, be ready to pay extra bills for electricity? At the last congregation in July this year the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Prof. Ernest Aryeetey, announced that the student population had risen to over 38,000 made up of students enrolled for regular programmes, sandwich programmes, and distance education as well as students from affiliate institutions.
Compare this with only a total of about 2,000, 45 years ago. Despite some improvement and expansion of infrastructure, facilities and amenities are being overstretched.
Reasonable payment
In my piece last week, I mentioned the situation where every student in Legon has a fridge in his room. Where there are four students in a room it means there can be four fridges, and most of them second-hand fridges which consume a lot of power. In addition, most students, if not all, have laptops and everybody has a mobile phone hand set. In the ladies rooms can also be found hair dryers.
Today, you can hardly differentiate between needy students and better endowed ones. Nobody wants to be seen to be struggling.
Therefore, with the cost of electricity going up and with the government not prepared to pick the bills for the universities, definitely the universities will have to find a way of paying for electricity and this means the students are going to be asked to pay something for electricity consumption in addition to the other bills they pay.
This is a very unfortunate situation and we all have to sympathise with the students, especially their parents who would have to pay for their wards, in addition to what they are also expected to pay for their own consumption of electricity at home.
How I wish a scheme could be worked out for each room at the various halls to have one fridge to serve the number of students in each room. But at this stage it will be difficult to change the status quo.
It only means that if the students should be asked to pay for electricity, the authorities should enter into a dialogue with them so that a very reasonable amount would be levied on the students. That, in my opinion, is the only way out.