STATEMENT: The Minority Committee on Education Calls for Gov’t Intervention To Address Scholarship Beneficiaries Abroad

The Minority Select Committee on Education expresses grave concern over the disturbing reports of Ghanaian government-sponsored students facing imminent eviction, deregistration and possible deportation across several countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom.

At the heart of this crisis lies the government’s failure to honour financial commitments through the Ghana Scholarships Secretariat.

Established in January 1960 as an extra-ministerial agency under the Office of the President, the Scholarships Secretariat was a strategic response to Ghana’s post-independence development agenda. It was designed to ensure that financially disadvantaged Ghanaians would not be denied access to tertiary and professional education, particularly in disciplines aligned with national development goals.

The Secretariat was established not merely as an administrative body, but as a moral and policy instrument of social mobility, national equity and human capital development.

In 2017, upon assumption of office, the then-government inherited a substantial outstanding debt of approximately USD 57.5 million at the time. However, instead of suspending support, the government acted decisively to clear these debts and ensured the continuity of education for Ghanaian students abroad.

Today, students in Memphis, Tennessee, numbering over 180, are on the verge of being ejected from their university housing, deregistered for the Fall 2025 semester and stripped off their student visa status. Many have had to begin paying their rent in dire circumstances. Equally worrying are parallel reports emerging from students in the UK and Eastern Europe facing similar threats. Some are already skipping meals, unable to afford necessities, all while carrying the psychological burden of academic performance in foreign lands.

We urge the Government of Ghana, through the Office of the President, the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Scholarships Secretariat, to immediately initiate payment plans, restore open communication channels with affected institutions, and release funds to regularise the status of all Ghanaian scholarship beneficiaries abroad.

We further appeal to the Office of the President (HE John Dramani Mahama), under which the Secretariat operates, to treat this matter with the utmost urgency and not allow bureaucratic silence to derail the future of hundreds of our nation’s brightest.

This is not a partisan matter! This is about our young people, our human capital base and Ghana’s moral standing in the global community. No nation committed to development can, in good conscience, watch while its scholars abroad are subjected to ridicule, hardship and potential deportation.

Let us be clear: these students did not smuggle themselves into foreign countries. The Government of Ghana selected them, issued formal letters of sponsorship and assured them of the state’s support. To now renege on these promises is not just a breach of contract but also a betrayal of trust.

Ghana’s international reputation as a nation that honours its commitments, especially to its youth, must not be jeopardised. The long-term implications of this crisis are profound: if left unresolved, we risk not only the loss of academic years but the erosion of global goodwill, the drying up of future bilateral educational support, and a deepening brain drain.

As the July deadlines for housing and academic registration draw closer, the Minority Committee on Education calls on the Government of Ghana, the Ghana Scholarships Secretariat and all relevant stakeholders to act swiftly, humanely and comprehensively.

Let us not allow silence, delay, or political indifference to define this moment. Let us rise above partisanship to protect our collective future, bearing in mind that despite the challenges and the overwhelming debt inherited by the past Government in 2017, no Ghanaian student studying abroad was deported or deregistered for non-payment of scholarship commitment. Therefore, the Ghanaian public, civil society organisations (CSOs) and the media should support this course for swift action and accountability.

God bless our homeland, Ghana and make us Strong.