The National Youth Organizer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Sammy Awuku has accused the government of being inconsistent with its policy on the payment of utility bills by tertiary students.<\/p>\n
[contextly_sidebar id=”e3IuKM1R7042hNasURbCxT6Nt2jmn5WB”]Some government officials including a Deputy Minister of Education, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa have revealed government\u2019s intention of withdrawing subvention for utility bills<\/a><\/strong><\/span> for tertiary students.<\/p>\n But in an interview with Citi News<\/strong> Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said government hasn’t yet taken any decision on the matter<\/a><\/strong><\/span>.<\/p>\n Gov’t is not being truthful<\/strong><\/p>\n Speaking to Citi News<\/strong>, Sammy Awuku believes that government is not being truthful on the matter.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the only consistent thing about this government is about their inconsistencies. I\u2019ve heard government officials saying that the students themselves also accepted the fact<\/a><\/strong><\/span> that there should be cost sharing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cAs we speak according to the students, various heads of these tertiary institutions have started processing their fees for next academic years. In processing their fees, they are factoring into consideration the issue of the utility bills. So government is being dodgy with the issue.\u201d<\/p>\n Sammy Awuku expressed that though he is happy government has rescinded its earlier decision, he said \u201cI know they are telling a lie.\u201d<\/p>\n Utility on students will affect parents<\/strong><\/p>\n The NPP youth organizer lamented that offloading the payment of utility to the students will further worsen the plights of parents, of the students, who are currently enduring the difficult economic conditions in the country.<\/p>\n \u201cThe truth of the matter is that they are not imposing these utility bills on just the students, they are imposing it on the parents because parents are funding the education of their wards. Already the Ghanaian parent has been stretched beyond elastic limit and any further imposition or worsening of the economic situation affects the parents and not the students at all.\u201d<\/p>\n Gov\u2019t must reconsider decision<\/strong><\/p>\n Meanwhile, the Graduate Students\u2019 Association of Ghana (GRASAG) is calling on government to reconsider its intention to make university students pay for utility bills<\/a><\/strong><\/span>.<\/p>\n Speaking to Citi News president of GRASAG Osman Abengo says government should rather think of ways to curb the wastage of power by students.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s about the way we use utilities at the various halls, the wastage that goes about it. We are always ready, we can always sit down and come out with rules and regulations to help curb the wastage but curbing the wastage does not mean that offloading the cost of paying that utility to the students.\u201d<\/p>\n –<\/p>\n By: Godwin Allotey Akweiteh\/citifmonline.com\/Ghana<\/p>\n