The Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) has justified reasons for asking students who delayed in paying their fees to defer.

Some students of the school on Wednesday, March 23, 2021, held a protest to resist the decision which they described as insensitive.

The management of the school after a meeting on Monday, March 22, 2021, reached an agreement that all students who failed to meet the deadline in paying their fees should defer.

The school said all affected students are to take note of the directive and act accordingly.

However, the directive was met with opposition from the affected students.

But the school reacting justified the directive saying it provided an extension of the original deadline for the payment of fees by 24 weeks so students could advantage of it.

"The several deadline extensions resulted in an unprecedented 24-week registration window without any penalty payment."

This decision by Management is in consonance with Section 9.3 of the Institute’s Undergraduate Academic Policies and Procedures which stipulates that “Students who fail to register (in person or by proxy) during the official registration period at the beginning of the semester forfeit their right to register for the semester or the entire Academic Year”.

It also satisfies Section 13.5 of the same policy which stipulates that “Students who absent themselves from class for twenty-one days in a semester without official permission from the Registrar, are deemed not to have satisfied the class attendance requirements for the semester and shall not be assessed as having completed the programme”.

It also explained the directive for the students to defer is not a punishment and their fees have been credited into their names.

Management notification to students who fell foul of the above sections was to ensure that affected students do not lose their studentship. Deferment of programme should therefore not be seen as a punishment but as an opportunity to retain studentship.

In line with the Institute’s practice, payments made by students before deferment is credited to the student’s account.

The general public is by this statement informed that Management of the Institute came to this decision after careful consideration to ensure that the academic processes required to keep the school running are upheld.”