Dr. Andrew Dadson
Private universities in the country have commended government for announcing plans to scrap the 25 percent corporate tax imposed on them.
According to the President of Knutsford University College, Dr Andrew Dadson, private universities are suffocating due to the lack of funds which is adversely affecting their operations.
He stressed the need to adopt pragmatic measures to address the teething challenges facing private universities in the country, adding that the removal of the tax is a step in the right direction.
Private universities in the country have over the years made several appeals to successive governments to remove the tax.
“We already lack the needed funds to run our institutions and having to pay huge amount of monies in the form of a corporate tax worsens out financial situations.
The Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia last month announced that government would soon abolish the taxes to lessen the financial burden on private institutions.
This, he noted, was part of government’s efforts to strengthen private tertiary institutions to enable them to play their roles in national development.
Speaking at the 7th congregation and 8th matriculation of Knutsford University in Accra, Dr Dadson noted that although government did not place any timeframe on the implementation of the tax scrap, the current government has proven to be proactive.
Challenges
Dr Dadson bemoaned the daunting challenges faced by private universities in the country despite their contributions to the national economy.
One of the major challenges facing private universities is affiliation process and its corresponding high level of fees charged and unfair competition from the mentoring institutions, he added.
Dr Dadson also bemoaned some of the requirements of the National Accreditation Board with emphasis on the requirement for programme accreditation, which is a duplication of the affiliation process.
Dr Dadson also said private universities and colleges must begin to merge in order to pool their resources together to strengthen their capacity to operate.
He charged graduates to take advantage of any opportunity that may come their way and make a difference in their work environment.
In all, 164 students, comprising 90 males and 74 females, graduated in various disciplines while 138 were matriculated into the institution.
Education committee
Deputy Ranking Member of the Education Committee of Parliament, Augustine Tawiah, reiterated government’s commitment to reforming the education system to have access to quality and equity in education.
He announced that the committee has completed a review of the processes of accreditation, re-accreditation and giving of charter, and expressed the commitment of the select committee to help private universities to thrive.
Knutsford University College is an accredited liberal arts, science and technology institution affiliated to the University of Ghana.
It offers courses in BSc Business Administration, Computer Science and Information Technology.
By Gibril Abdul Razak