News:
March 17, 2026
A group of Ghanaian students in the United Kingdom is staring at the potential collapse of their academic dreams, not because of poor grades, but due to the Government of Ghana’s failure to pay their scholarships.
The desperate students, pursuing various courses at universities including the University of Birmingham, have now petitioned the Minority Caucus in Parliament, appealing for urgent intervention to compel the government to settle outstanding fees.
At a press conference on [Day], the Member of Parliament for Savelugu, Fatahiya Aziz Abdul, detailed the distressing plight of these young scholars, emphasizing that their situation is a matter of national concern.
A Broken Promise
According to the MP, these students are not private adventurers but sponsored scholars of the Republic of Ghana.
“These young men and women did not travel abroad on personal ventures. They left Ghana under the authority and sponsorship of the Republic to pursue advanced studies in fields that are critical to our country’s development,” Madam Abdul stated.
She stressed that the students left their families and familiar environments based on the state’s assurance that its financial commitments would be honored. “That assurance was not a favor; it was a promise made in the name of the Republic of Ghana. Yet today, these students find themselves in a distressing and humiliating situation that should concern every Ghanaian.”
Transcripts Withheld and Visas Expired
The core of the problem, as outlined in the petition, is the government’s failure to pay tuition fees for the 2024/2025 academic year to the relevant scholarship authorities.
This default has had severe consequences. The MP revealed that the University of Birmingham has withheld the students’ academic records, including transcripts and certificates, pending the settlement of the outstanding fees.
“This alone is troubling, but the situation is even more alarming,” Madam Abdul added. “The students have informed us that their visas expired on 30th January 2026 [likely meant 2025]. In a responsible effort to avoid overstaying and breaching UK immigration laws, some of them applied for graduate visas under the post-study work arrangements.”
The students, who left Ghana with hope and ambition, are now facing profound anxiety, embarrassment, and the frightening possibility that their educational journey could be cut short through no fault of their own.
Failed Assurances and a Call for Action
The MP noted that the students have not been passive in this ordeal. They have repeatedly engaged the Ghana Scholarship Secretariat and reached out to officials at the Ghana High Commission in the UK.
“In these engagements, they were repeatedly assured that the matter would be resolved, yet months have passed and those assurances have not translated into action,” she said.
To prevent the students from being forced to abandon their studies, the Minority Caucus is urgently calling on the government to intervene. They are specifically urging the Minister of Education and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration to immediately engage the leadership of the University of Birmingham through diplomatic channels.
The goal, according to the MP, is to “secure temporary administrative relief for the affected students while the financial issues are being resolved.”
Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com