The Ghana Scholarships Authority has announced the release of first-quarter funds to clear outstanding scholarship arrears owed to Ghanaian students studying abroad, with the intervention coming on the same day PhD students in the United Kingdom staged a demonstration at the Ghana High Commission in London.
In a statement signed by Director-General Alex Kwaku Asafo-Agyei on Wednesday, April 16, the Authority confirmed that the funds will address prolonged delays in stipend and tuition fee payments, particularly for beneficiaries in the United Kingdom and other countries. It acknowledged the inconvenience caused to affected students and said the release marks part of a broader government effort to progressively clear the backlog.
The timing is significant. A statement issued by the executive body of the UK doctoral cohort on April 6 announced a protest for April 17 at the Ghana High Commission in London, citing what the students described as the deliberate neglect of sponsored scholars. Many affected students reportedly had gone months without receiving their statutory stipends, with arrears ranging from 15 to 40 months of unpaid living allowances.
The students said the protest would only be called off if the government released funds to the Authority and provided evidence of payment before April 17.
The crisis has been building for months. Ghana’s new administration acknowledged upon taking office a debt of £32 million owed to universities in the United Kingdom, with arrears dating as far back as 2020. The financial delays have had severe consequences for affected students at institutions such as the University of Wolverhampton and De Montfort University, where some Ghanaian students received warnings that their visas could be revoked if outstanding tuition fees were not settled.
The students also raised concern that although GH¢256 million had been earmarked for scholarships in the first quarter of 2026, the Finance Minister proposed disbursing only GH¢37 million, an amount they argued was inadequate to cover what is owed.
The Authority said the released funds will go through the necessary administrative and public financial management processes before reaching beneficiaries, and urged students to remain calm and continue their academic activities while payments are processed. It reaffirmed government’s commitment to the welfare of Ghanaian students abroad and pledged to minimise similar delays going forward.
