Taking Public Universities Off Government’s Payroll Is Feasible – ISSER-UG Director

Director for the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) at the University of Ghana, Prof. Peter Quartey has lauded the government’s decision to wean-off public tertiary institutions from its payroll.

This comes after Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta in a press briefing on March 24, 2022, announced that the government will take public tertiary institutions off its payroll and provide them with fixed amount block grants.

This, he added, is in line with measures by the government to mitigate the current economic challenges in the country.

Speaking exclusively to UniversNews at the commissioning of the new ISSER Office Complex and Digital Centre, Prof. Peter Quartey indicated that, fees charged university students are inadequate and do not reflect current economic conditions.

According to him, the implementation of the new policy will give public universities, the upper hand in running their institutions.

“It is feasible and that is what the universities even want. Government currently pays salaries and beyond that, very little support comes to the University. We are not allowed to increase fees, I mean we are charging 2017 fees in 2022. You can imagine, it is woefully inadequate and doesn’t reflect current conditions. So if we’re allowed to charge what will make us run the market rate, why not? “

However, Prof. Peter Quartey called for broader consultations into the policy before its implementation to avoid stirring up public out roar, which may result from increased fees.

“So the University is actually in favor, however, it is the public that is going to kick against this. There might be public backlash, and students will protest on the streets when we start charging market rates. Let’s conduct an evaluation into this whole thing, let’s see how feasible it can be before we roll it out otherwise we’ll draw the policy only to withdraw, and policy credibility is very critical in every economic management,” he added.

Touching on the ongoing debate to review the free education policy, Prof. Quartey emphasized the need for government to seek public support, in funding the Free SHS policy amidst current global economic crisis.

He fears that the quality of education in the country might suffer if the situation is not addressed.

” An educated population is certainly better than an uneducated one, the issue has to do with implementation the financing. We financed it totally, and perhaps we’ve reached a stage where we think our resources are not enough, it’s about time we look at it and see areas where we can cut spending, without hurting the quality of Free SHS. I believe Ghanaians will understand. Otherwise, if we continue to push it, quality might suffer,” he said.

Source: universnewsroom.com