The management of the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) says its decision to have students who paid their fees after the registration deadline defer their programme is lawful.

The “management of the Ghana Institute of Journalism, at its meeting held on Monday, March 22, 2021, decided that students who paid their fees after the registration deadline should defer their programme,” a notice issued by the school on Tuesday, 23 March 2021 said.

The directive angered the affected students, who, together with their colleagues, decided, in solidarity, to march to the school’s premises to picket.

A statement issued by the management on 24 March 2021 explained that “this decision by the 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 continued: “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,” adding that: “In line with the Institute’s practice, payments made by students before deferment is credited to the student’s account”.

Ahead of the #OccupyGIJ demonstration by students on Wednesday morning, the security personnel locked up the gates to the campus on the orders of the management of the school to deny any student entry, amidst heavy security presence.

Nonetheless, the agitated students massed up to protest against the deferment directive.

Read full statement below:

GHANA INSTITUTE OF JOURNALISM

MEDIA RELEASE

Further to Management’s directive to students who failed to register for the semester to defer their programmes, Management wishes provide further clarification as follows:

1. In preparation towards the re-opening of schools, Management circulated the Calendar for the Academic year which detailed registration timelines for students. The initial deadline for registration for continuing students as captured in the Academic Calendar was 26th December, 2020.

2. Management decided to extend the registration deadline to 8th January, 2021 after tertiary institutions received the greenlight from the presidency to re-open on the 9th of January, 2021.

3. In a quest to ensure that as many students as possible registered for the 2020/2021 Academic Year, Management decided to, again, extend the deadline for registration to 3rd February, 2021.

4. As act of magnanimity, Management upon expiration of the 3rd February deadline approved 25th February, 2021 as final deadline for the payment of the minimum 60% of fees and subsequent registration.

5. Students’ registration constitutes a vital part of academic procedures in tertiary institutions the world over as it influences decisions regarding lecture hall allocation, preparation of lecture and examination time tables among others.

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

7. 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”.

8. 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.

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

10. 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.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS UNIT

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