The leadership of the University Students’ Association of Ghana, USAG wishes to commend the government of Ghana for the measures that have been put in place since the outbreak of COVID-19 in the country. We also wish to express profound gratitude to government and university managements across the country for the attempts to prevent significant disruptions of the academic calendar in the wake of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). We believe with our fervent prayer, coupled with the necessary preventive measures and the work of our competent health workers, we shall overcome.
Leadership of the Association wishes to confirm receipt of complaints from students with regards to the implementation of the E-learning policy in the various universities across the country. As the official representative body of university students nationwide, we have officially begun engagements with the necessary stakeholders. We are well informed on several deliberations to implement new policies that will ensure academic work continues smoothly. Indeed, across the globe e-learning has proven to be the most prudent option as the novel coronavirus continues to tour many countries and continents amidst lockdowns and declarations of state of emergency.
We admit that e-learning is a pressing need for our constituents and as it has already been established, “we are not in ordinary times”. The disruptions caused by this outbreak is not only limited to academic work but also other packages which affect university students such as the Student Loan Trust Fund (SLTF). While we commend the efforts channeled into the e-learning initiative, we believe that for the expected impact of the module, government must do a little more. Thus, we have requested that among other things government must bring on board the following;
1. That the necessary stakeholders ensure popular academic websites/platforms be zero-rated to allow easy and unlimited access to the online resources. These popular academic websites include ‘Google classroom, Zoom, Jstor and Google scholar’.
We believe that charges that come along with accessing these sites are very huge and will therefore be a hurdle to students who happen to be prime stakeholders in the implementation of this policy. Scrapping off data charges on these sites will therefore be a step in the right direction.
2. We have urged Government to implement a 50% cut on the current 9% Communication Service Tax (CST) for this period of the outbreak. A reduction in CST is likely to be the greatest token Government can offer these service providers to fully obtain the needed support to implement an effective E-learning system. With the understanding that most students embark on research routines, usage of data to access information from various online sites is imminent. A reduction in CST will therefore allow service providers to come up with reasonable and affordable data packages that will prove to be very beneficial to students as well as the entire citizenry, especially considering the fact that numerous people rely on such services during these times.
3. Regarding beneficiaries of the Student Loan Trust Fund (SLTF), which is a scheme by government, we have suggested a deferment of interest charges on loans. This is due to the fact that, debtors who are to work to reimburse the fund are likely to be affected by the various restrictions in place to check the spread of the coronavirus. It will therefore make it difficult for them to access funds for such repayments. For this reason, we have demanded a 3-month freeze of interest charges on repayment beginning from the month of April.
To conclude, we wish to reiterate our commitment to ensuring all university students get access to quality uninterrupted education. Indeed, these are not normal times but we believe with consistency and togetherness, we shall overcome these trying times. We encourage all university students to continue learning hard and follow all the necessary preventive measures. USAG will continue to work for you. God bless our homeland Ghana.
