Dr. Fred Kyei Asamoah
The Minority on the Parliamentary Select Committee on Education has raised concerns about a growing crisis facing Ghanaian students studying abroad on government scholarships.
Addressing the media in Parliament, a member of the Committee, Dr. Fred Kyei Asamoah, on behalf of the Minority, demanded immediate intervention from the government to resolve severe financial delays that have left scholarship beneficiaries on the brink of eviction, deregistration, and possible deportation in several countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, and parts of Eastern Europe.
According to him, the Ghana Scholarship Secretariat, established in 1960 under the Office of the President, has failed to meet its financial obligations to students, many of whom are now facing dire consequences.
“The government’s inability to honour its commitments is causing deep psychological and material distress for hundreds of young Ghanaians,” he stated.
Particularly concerning, Dr. Asamoah noted, is the situation in Memphis, Tennessee, where over 180 Ghanaian students are reportedly on the verge of being removed from university housing, deregistered for the upcoming fall semester, and stripped of their visa status.
Some students have begun paying rent out-of-pocket under severe hardship, while others are skipping meals due to financial constraints, he added.
Dr. Asamoah said similar reports had emerged from the United Kingdom and Eastern Europe, where students also face the threat of academic disruption and personal hardship.
“This is not just a funding issue; it is a moral failure and a breach of trust,” Dr. Asamoah declared and added, “These students did not sneak into foreign countries. They were officially selected and assured by the Government of Ghana of full financial sponsorship. To renege on this promise now amounts to a betrayal.”
He recounted that in 2017, the then incoming New Patriotic Party (NPP) government inherited a debt of approximately $57.5 million in scholarship arrears. “Yet despite the fiscal challenge, the then government took prompt steps to clear the backlog and safeguard the educational progress of students abroad,” he said.
The Minority is therefore calling on the Office of the President, currently under His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, the Ministry of Education, and the Ghana Scholarship Secretariat to act urgently.
Specific demands include initiating immediate payment plans, restoring open communication with partner institutions abroad, and ensuring the release of funds to regularize the status of all affected students.
“This is not a partisan issue. It is a national emergency affecting our youth, our human capital, and our international reputation. No nation serious about development can allow its future leaders to suffer such indignity and neglect,” Dr. Asamoah warned.
The Minority emphasised the broader implications of the crisis, including a potential loss of academic years, erosion of Ghana’s credibility with partner institutions, and deepening of the brain drain.
“As July deadlines for housing and academic registration approach, we call for swift, humane, and comprehensive action. We must not allow political indifference or bureaucratic inertia to define this moment. Civil society, the media, and every concerned Ghanaian must support this cause,” Dr. Asamoah urged.
He called on the government to emulate past leadership which, despite financial constraints, ensured that no Ghanaian student abroad was deported or deregistered due to non-payment. “God bless our homeland Ghana, and make us strong,” the Minority ended.
By Ernest Kofi Adu, Parliament House