An official of the National Union of Ghana Students, NUGS, has backed a call for the suspension of fees for the 2021 academic year.

A statement signed by Stallon Okine Nii, NUGS Secretary For Education, noted that it was "gratifying" for the Bawku Central MP Mahama Ayariga, to "speak to a very critical matter of great interest to students across the country."

The lawmaker petitioned the speaker seeking to file a motion on the issue. He principally cited the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on life generally as basis for the petition.

Ayariga's petition to speaker Bagbin read in part: “This is important to the public because many people have lost their jobs due to the economic consequences of the outbreak of COVID-19, which has necessitated government granting subsidies in the provision of water and electricity.

"... Workers of private schools in the education sector have not earned income in close to a year. Most parents and students have not been able to work to save funds to be able to pay fees."

Below is the full statement of the NUGS official

It is gratifying to see the Hon Member of Parliament for Bawku Central speak to a very critical matter of great interest to students across the country.

This is a longstanding matter that we at the National Union of Ghana Students have been pursuing. We have administered a petition on the matter and duly submitted it before the presidency through the unions’ president (Isaac Jay Hyde).

It is worth noting that, we didn't get the desired response from the office of the president.

This and other related matters like the inability of the Students Loan Trust Funds to shell out loans to the majority of the students in need of these loans are issues that need critical attention at this period in our lives as students.

Furthermore, the emergency of Covid-19 at the beginning of the second semester of the 2019/2020 academic year placed a serious financial burden on students as they had to purchase data bundles to catch up with online lessons although they had already settled their academic facility user fees for that year.

The Education Secretary for the National Union of Ghana Students writes to hobnob and endorse the Motion being put forward by the Honourable MP. And that, we expect the President as listening as he has always been, to place drastic measures to heeding to our request of a 50% slash of tertiary students academic facility user fees for the 2020/2021 academic year.