Student loan delay: Takoradi Technical University defers 1000 students for non-payment of fees

Over 1000 students of Takoradi Technical University (TTU) have been deferred for the 2019/2020 academic year as punishment for non-payment of school fees during the first semester, MyNewsGh.com reports

The decision means the affected students who have not been able to register their courses are to leave the university campus and wait for the next academic year to commence before they can have the opportunity to restart.

However, according to a spokesperson for the affected students, authorities must reconsider their decision taking into consideration the number of students involved and the fact that none of them has been paid students loan they applied for from the Students Loan Trust Fund (SLTF) since the beginning of the academic year in August, 2019.

“How do you expect most of these needy students who rely on the government loan to pay their fees and register when government has not paid them anything?”  She asked.

She therefore called on authorities of the school to temper justice with mercy by conducting a ‘limited registration’ exercise since most of the students had already taken part in the semester’s academic programmes, including examinations.

Head of Public Relations at SLTF, George Laing, says the scheme, which aside government funding, depends on GetFund, Communication Service Tax, as well as the repayment of loans by previous beneficiaries to pay new applicants, is currently facing the challenge of non-availability of funds thus the delay in disbursement of first semester loans.

He has therefore appealed to students to be patient as authorities work to address issues.

Technical Universities kicked off the 2019/2020 academic year with two major strikes by the Technical University Teachers Association of Ghana (TUTAG) as well as other associations which brought both academic and administrative works to halt in all campuses across the nation.

After 5 weeks, the strike which was as a result of a stalemate between TUTAG and government over lecturers’ emoluments was called off on January 15, 2020, after the National Labour Commission (NLC) placed a court injunction on it and students were recalled back to prepare for examinations.

Source:MyNewsGh.com/ Lord Kweku Sekyi/2020