President John Mahama says his government has established the Ghana National Research Fund with an initial allocation of GH¢50 million to support homegrown innovation and reduce reliance on foreign funding for academic work.

Speaking during his media encounter on Wednesday, September 10, President Mahama said the initiative is a decisive step toward building a knowledge-based economy while securing Ghana’s intellectual property.

“For far too long, much of the research conducted by our brilliant academics has been funded by foreign institutions, with the unfortunate outcome that the intellectual property and findings are often owned abroad. With this fund, we’ll slowly but certainly reverse that narrative,” he said.

The president explained that the fund will support research across science, technology, humanities, and the arts, while providing annual full scholarships to five PhD candidates in every university in Ghana.

“By investing in our thinkers, we are investing in our future and asserting our intellectual sovereignty,” Mahama said.

He also announced the rollout of free tertiary education for persons with disabilities, describing it as the removal of a “key barrier to higher learning” and a signal that education must be a right, not a privilege.

President Mahama said the launch of the No-Fee Stress Policy will be tied to the new Student Loan Plus scheme, which will provide flexible financing options to help students from low-income households complete their studies without being trapped in debt.

"The education sector remains central to our reset agenda, as we firmly believe that the future of our country hinges on an empowered, knowledgeable and skilled population," President Mahama added.