The President of the Ghanaian PhD Cohort in the United Kingdom, Prince Komla Bansah, has revealed that several Ghanaian doctoral candidates are unable to submit their completed theses due to outstanding tuition fees owed by the Government of Ghana.

Speaking on The Probe on JoyNews on Sunday, December 7, he explained that although many of his colleagues have fulfilled all academic requirements, universities will not process their submissions or confirm their graduation until the arrears are settled.

"The PhD cohorts, some of them have finished their theses, but they are unable to submit because they have been blocked by their universities, and so they don't have any access to the university's portal. These are just a summary of the situation," he said on the show.

Mr Bansah further disclosed that the affected students have gone 48 months without receiving their mandatory stipends, a development he says has pushed many into severe hardship. Some depend on food banks to survive, while others struggle to keep up with rent.

Ghana currently owes universities in the United Kingdom £32 million of pounds in unpaid scholarship bills, a debt that has triggered a wave of consequences for the students involved.

In July this year, the Youth Development and Empowerment Minister, George Opare Addo, disclosed that the government inherited a staggering GH¢700 million in unpaid scholarship debt.

Read also: We inherited over GH¢700m in unpaid scholarship funds – George Opare Addo

Meanwhile, the undergraduate students in the UK are also on the brink of being removed from their programmes, as universities issue a final ultimatum to settle all outstanding tuition fees by 26th January 2026.

In official notices sent to affected students across multiple institutions, universities have warned that beneficiaries must either clear their arrears by the deadline, exit the UK, or submit a fresh application to regularise their stay.