The Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) has issued a warning to public tertiary institutions regarding the review or implementation of new student fees for the academic year 2025/2026, emphasizing that such actions require parliamentary approval.
On Monday, November 3, 2025, the Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, instructed GTEC to firmly direct all public universities to refrain from unauthorized increases in tuition fees.
This directive comes in response to reports indicating that certain universities have unilaterally raised their fees following the government’s announcement of the “No Fees Stress Policy,” which guarantees free tertiary education for first-year students and individuals with disabilities.
In the directive sent to Vice Chancellors of both traditional and technical universities, GTEC highlighted that some institutions have, over the years, modified student fees without adhering to the proper procedures, resulting in difficulties in implementation and compliance.
“To ensure adherence to statutory obligations under the Fees and Charges Act and in accordance with its mandate to foster the effective and efficient functioning of tertiary education institutions, GTEC reminds all universities that new fees for the 2025/2026 academic year cannot be imposed without prior approval from Parliament, as stipulated by law,” the statement indicated.
Consequently, the Commission has instructed universities to retain the current fees until any proposed changes receive parliamentary approval.
“Vice Chancellors are hereby reminded to uphold the existing student fees and to only implement the revised fees for the 2025/2026 academic year after securing approval from Parliament,” the statement underscored.
The directive, which was signed by Dr. Emmanuel Oware Nyarko, Director of Quality Assurance and Compliance, on behalf of the Director-General of GTEC, was also sent to the Minister of Education, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Education, and the Executive Secretaries of both Vice Chancellors’ Ghana (VCG) and Vice Chancellors’ Technical Universities Ghana (VCTU-G).
