Medical Students not part of ‘No Fee Stress’ Promise – Haruna Iddrisu

0
Haruna Iddrisu, Member of Parliament for Tamale South
Haruna Iddrisu, Member of Parliament for Tamale South
Advertisement

The Education Minister-designate, Haruna Iddrisu, has clarified that medical students will not be included in the government’s plan to refund admission fees for first-year university students.

This announcement came during his vetting by the Appointments Committee of Parliament on January 20, 2025.

Iddrisu stated that President John Mahama’s government intends to allocate GHC345 million in its maiden budget specifically for the refund of admission fees for first-year students pursuing what he termed “normal subject areas.”

He emphasized that this policy will not extend to those studying medicine.

“On the authority of President Mahama, I am sure the Minister of Finance, if approved, will present the Reset Budget of the government. It will include some provision of GHC345 million for admission fees for students studying in normal subject areas, not areas like Medicine,” Iddrisu explained.

SEE ALSO: Licensure Exams: We will review the curriculum of colleges of education –  Haruna Iddrisu

The Minister-designate also highlighted that this initiative is considered an experiment by President Mahama.

“For President Mahama, this is a model to experiment. We will look at it, how we fare as a country if it is possible to expand then we expand it.”

These remarks came as Iddrisu answered questions posed by Minority Leader and Ranking Member of the Committee, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, concerning the ‘No Fee Stress’ policy.

This promise, also known as ‘No Academic User Fees for Level 100 Students,’ is outlined in President Mahama’s Youth Manifesto.

The manifesto states, “We will implement a no-fees stress programme to alleviate the financial burden on parents and students in financing tertiary education. We will implement a ‘No Academic Fees’ policy at the university for level 100 students.”

He confirmed that students who have already paid their admission fees will receive a refund. He also clarified that the policy refers solely to admission fees, not tuition, which is already free in all public universities in Ghana.

SEE ALSO: “1st-year tertiary students who have already paid admission fees will be refunded” – Haruna Iddrisu

He stated, “We know that some students have paid their admission fees, we will refund it to them… Tuition is already free in all public universities in Ghana, so we are referring to admission fees.”

When asked if the policy would include Colleges of Education and Nursing and Midwifery Training Colleges, Iddrisu responded that he was “not here to use public universities and tertiary education interchangeably,” reaffirming that the policy is currently focused on admission fees for university students.

Advertisement
5 1 vote
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments