The Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana (UG), Legon, Professor Ernest Aryeetey has stated that although the university is facing financial challenges it has not reached the point of collapse.
The internally generated funds, he said, are not sufficient to cater for the budget of the university.
The vice chancellor made this observation at the opening ceremony of a three-day seminar organized by management to provide continuous professional development for senior administrative and professional staff.
The seminar, under the theme, “Meeting the challenges of funding universities: The Role of the Administrator/Professional,” will highlight issues relating to the financial challenges and a possible way forward.
Mr. Aryeetey noted that although the university is funded by the government, it has an independent way of managing it resources, noting “we shall be accountable and transparent with the use of all resources.
“So long as we are transparent and speak publicly to discuss our policies we will overcome our financial challenges,” he noted.
In his presentation, the Registrar of University of Cape Town (UCT), Hugh Amoore revealed that the university administrator has three challenges “to ensure that the government and the public believe they are getting value for public money; to influence the government’s approach to the need for and use of public money in universities; and to understand exactly how the state’s funding of universities works.”
He added that detailed understanding of how the funding framework operates is a necessary part of the university administrator’s work because funding is generated by input data such that accurate and complete data collection and secondly because whatever resource allocation/ distribution method one uses understanding where revenue is earn is important.
Mr. Amoore also noted that the university faces multiple demands although the resource allocated is limited.
Mr. Jonathan Baldwin, Registrar of University of Warwick, also outlined ways of facing challenges in the universities to maintain excellence in teaching and research, effective leadership and management and intellectual and visionary leadership to create a culture of innovation in the pursuit of excellence.
Richard O. Boapea, a resource person, also presented facts on the role of Internally Generated Funds (IGF) and cited sources of funds for the university as grants from central and local government bodies, research grants and contracts, academic fees, endowment and investment and other income, adding that Section 24(1) of UG Law, 2010, Act 806 defines the following as constituting funds of the university: Government of Ghana subventions, monies that accrue to the university in the performance of its functions, interest from investments, endowments, donations and gifts, monies from other source approved by the Council.
Mr. Boapea again defined IGF as “Any money or monies accruing to a university from a source other than government through the sole effort of the university in the performance of its functions”.
He explained that the IGF will rise if there is an increase in facilities for staff and student, sporting facilities, private commercial entities, endowment funds, consultancy services and partnership with businesses.
“We will be able to realize this if we establish an Office of Fund Raising (OFR), revive our consultancy services, engage government on policy issues in foreign student quota and ceiling on yearly Academic Facility User Fees percentage increases and entrenchment of budgeting and budgetary control,” he noted.
In an interview with DAILY GUIDE, the registrar of the UG, Joseph M. Budu, explained that there is the need to look at the issues and challenges at hand so as to be able to appreciate them.
“Because I see that if we don’t do anything, nothing will happen, we need to do the right thing so that the situation will improve. We need to bring out the issue and discuss it among ourselves,” he noted.
He observed that “we brought our colleagues so they could share their experiences with us.”
Mr. Aryeetey also lauded the organizers for their initiative, stressing that “we are expecting them to share with us their way of management.”
Participants in a group photograph with the Vice Chancellor.
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