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Two former students of the University for Development Studies (UDS) have petitioned the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) to investigate their alma mater over its decision to collect unapproved levies from students.
The petition follows a publication by The Fourth Estate in April 2026 that revealed how the School of Business at the University for Development Studies (SoB-UDS) in Tamale has, since 2024, been collecting levies from students without obtaining parliamentary approval.
“This petition follows the publication of an investigative report by The Fourth Estate on April 29, 2026 detailing how students were compelled to pay GHS 300 as Industrial Attachment Fee and GHS 150 as Development Levy by the School of Business and, GHS 300 by the Faculty of Education,” the petitioners stated.
The petitioners, Solomon Neequaye and Romeo Adu Ardey, have also stated that “The matter is deeply troubling because evidence available, including audio recordings cited during the investigation, indicates that university officials themselves acknowledged that introducing such levies require Parliamentary approval. However, they still went ahead to use the backdoor means to introduce the levies without the necessary statutory approval.”
They say beyond the legal implications, the human impact on students is severe. “Many students enrolled at UDS precisely because of its relative affordability compared to other universities. Yet, students who are already struggling to pay approved tuition fees are now being confronted with additional compulsory illegal levies.”
Citing GTEC’s response in The Fourth Estate’s publication, in which the Commission assured that it would thoroughly investigate the matter if formally brought to its attention, the petitioners expressed their surprise that nearly two months after the publication, UDS is still collecting the illegal levies while GTEC looks on.
“It therefore comes to us as a big surprise that after more than one month of the publication, the University continues to collect the levies while GTEC looks on. The silence of both the University and GTEC since the findings of The Fourth Estate risks creating a dangerous precedence where other public universities may feel emboldened to impose parallel levies outside lawful approval processes,” the petitioners stated, adding that “such conduct undermines public confidence in higher education governance and weakens the principle that public institutions must operate strictly within the framework of the laws of Ghana.”
They are therefore requesting GTEC to conduct an immediate investigation into the illegality or otherwise of the levies, publicly direct UDS to suspend all illegal levies being collected from students and reaffirm strict compliance with the approved fee structure and ensure the refund of money illegally collected from the students.
Background
The Fourth Estate’s investigation revealed how the UDS relied on a questionable Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) it signed with the leadership of the Business Students Association (BUSA) on October 22, 2024, to ‘legitimise’ the collection of GHS150.00 as Development Levy and GHS300.00 as Industrial Attachment Support Levy.
Meanwhile, in the approved regular fee schedule, the students are already paying GHS84.53 for their Third Trimester Field Practical Programme (TTFPP), which is the same as what the University has renamed Industrial Attachment Support Levy and collects GHS300.00 levy.
The Fourth Estate had sighted payment receipts of students covering the two questionable levies.
Knowing the illegality of the levies, the Industrial Attachment Coordinator of SoB-UDS, Abdul Mumin Mubarik, admitted in a meeting with students that Management could not introduce any fees or levies without Parliamentary approval, hence the use of the MoU. “Even at the level of the Dean, he cannot take that decision,” he said.
He also justified the imposition of the levies as he claimed the University does not give the lecturers sufficient allowances to go on industrial attachment supervision. “If I am going to do industrial attachment supervision, maybe it’s just GHCS 800.00 they [management] will give me to use for [transportation].”
Meanwhile, sources within the University had told The Fourth Estate many faculties have been collecting similar levies for some years now, while others were now introducing them.
For instance, the Faculty of Education had been cited for collecting unapproved levies for many years now. Pay-in slips sighted by The Fourth Estate showed that the faculty collects an annual levy of GHS300.00 per student for practical fieldwork. The money is paid into the faculty’s Agricultural Development Bank with the account name “UDS Faculty of Education.”
The Director of Corporate Affairs at GTEC, Jerry Sarfo, said the Commission frowns upon the collection of unapproved fees and levies by public tertiary institutions.
“It hasn’t been brought before the Commission yet,” he said. “We can assure you that if such things are brought before the Commission, it will be thoroughly investigated. And where it doesn’t conform to the Fees and Charges Act, we would address it, and ask them to refund it where necessary.”
Private legal practitioner, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, told The Fourth Estate that the signing of the MoU by the student leadership with the University was not supported by any legal framework.
“There is no basis for it,” he said.
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