A management decision has caused some 6,000 students at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) to defer their classes.
This came after KNUST released a statement stating that students who owe more than 70% of their school fees by April 7 will be automatically postponed.
Students were able to participate in the mid-semester exams, which began on April 11, according to reports. Students who have outstanding debts were forced to defer their classes after the first week of April.
6,000 students is a small percentage of the school’s 85,000 students, but it is the first time such a large number of students has been affected.
Dr Daniel Norris Bekoe, the University’s Public Relations Officer, remarked in an interview on Joy FM’s Midday News on Wednesday that the University’s move is in the right way.
He highlighted that the problem of students not paying their fees has persisted over time, hence the decision to “apply the fees policy this year which has been approved by the academic board and it is required that as an undergraduate student you must register your courses at the beginning of the semester and pay 70%.”
According to him, the University “provided a window from February through March and April” for students who are behind on their payments to pay.
Some students, he claims, have diverted their tuition funds to other sources of income.
“A number of students are playing games with the University. For example, they use their school fees to buy Uber; others are setting up bakeries…while others are using it for betting, and we have evidence,” he said.
But some of the affected students say they are genuinely needy, stating that the bursaries and other scholarships they had applied for had not taken effect.
Consequently, they want the school to extend the period.
Source: myjoyonline.com
So sad