The PhD cohort of Ghanaian students in the United Kingdom under the Ghana Scholarship Authority (GSA) has expressed frustration over continued delays in the payment of tuition fees and stipends, despite claims that government funds had been released months earlier.

In a statement released on June 8, the students said they had planned a series of protests in London on April 17 to highlight what they described as the “debilitating impact” of prolonged delays in scholarship payments routed through the Ghana High Commission in the UK.

According to the statement, while students were gathering at Hyde Park to begin the demonstration, they received information that funds had been released, following a Ghana Scholarship Authority statement dated April 16.

The cohort stated that they “subsequently suspended the planned protest as a goodwill gesture and instead sought a meeting with Ghana’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Sabah Zita Benson”.

During the engagement, they noted that “the High Commissioner confirmed that funds had been released on April 16 and assured the students that processing and disbursement would begin in the week commencing April 20”.

However, the students said that as of June 8, “no student from the PhD, undergraduate or master’s cohorts had received any payments towards tuition fees or stipends”.

Previous engagements and appeals

They noted that they had previously engaged the High Commissioner on similar issues, but the challenges remained unresolved.

The cohort further observed that scholarship payment delays have been repeatedly raised in the public space. They recalled that in 2024, the PhD cohort issued several statements and also raised concerns through Joy FM’s Samson Anyenini during a media encounter with the then Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.

Following earlier engagements, they noted that an amount of GH¢150 million was released at the time to partly address tuition and stipend arrears. However, they expressed surprise that recent appeals have not resulted in similar intervention.

Academic and welfare impact

The students said the continued delays have had severe consequences on their academic progress and welfare.

They stated that most affected members have either been withdrawn, suspended, or had their visas revoked due to non-payment of fees. They added that some graduates are unable to obtain academic certificates, while several UK universities have begun passing on tuition fees to students, making life more unbearable.

They further noted that debt collection agencies are now involved in pursuing outstanding payments from sponsored students on behalf of universities.

In terms of stipend payments, they said “several PhD students are owed more than 40 months of unpaid stipends.”

They also noted that while they acknowledged the President’s recent trip to the United Kingdom, they were concerned that the issue of sustained non-payment of tuition fees and stipends did not take a central focus in engagements.

Administrative and welfare concerns

The cohort also stated that for more than two academic terms, the Director-General of the Ghana Scholarship Authority (GSA), Alex Kwaku Asafo-Agyei, had not issued renewal letters for continuing students in the UK, despite an earlier promise by the High Commissioner in January 2026 that the letters would be issued.

The Cohort further said their members had been made destitute in the UK. According to them, several students are now relying on the benevolence of friends, while a significant number depend on food banks to survive.

They added that some members are also facing court cases over rent arrears owed to landlords, which they said stems from the sustained non-payment of monthly stipends.

The students also expressed concern over what they described as limited engagement from the GSA leadership, stating that the Director-General has only engaged the UK students once since assuming office.

They added that universities were frequently informing students that they were unable to sustain their studentship due to the GSA’s failure to provide assurances on outstanding tuition payments.

The cohort further noted that the GSA Director-General had signed several new non-bilateral scholarship award letters to countries, including Canada, Germany, China and the United States, despite the pending challenges in the UK.

They also stated that although the Ghana High Commissioner had assured them that the Director-General would engage them at least on a quarterly basis, they were yet to see such commitment fulfilled.

Concerns over fund release and disbursement

The cohort stated that they had been informed that the Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, had released funds for the first quarter to enable the Ghana Scholarship Authority (GSA) to meet outstanding commitments in the United Kingdom.

However, they said their “findings show that only 37 million Ghana cedi out of the 256 million Ghana cedi allocated budget has been released.” They further added that “this amount translates to only £2.3 million or 14% of the GSA budget.”

They noted that although the United Kingdom remained the “hotspot of challenges”, the amount being sent to the UK is “not even up to £300,000".

The cohort also stated that despite notice of the funds having been sent to the UK, “our information indicates that the GSA director general has since not signed the distribution advice for payments to commence.”

They further added that “the GSA owes the PhD cohort outstanding tuition and stipend fees to the tune of 56 million Ghana cedi (£3.5 million)".

The cohorts said they “have already gone past the second quarter, yet the first quarter release is yet to be disbursed". They added that these developments raise serious concerns as to whether the GSA and the government are genuinely committed to addressing the challenges confronting sponsored students in the UK.

Appeal and warning of protests

The cohort called on President John Dramani Mahama and the Minister of Finance to urgently intervene by releasing substantial funds to address the situation affecting Ghanaian students in the United Kingdom.

They stated: “we once again call on President John Dramani Mahama and the finance minister to consider the circumstances of our countrymen and women who are stranded in the UK and release a substantial amount to address these concerns.”

They also appealed to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Sir Keir Starmer, to revisit their earlier petition, adding that "we, the leadership of the student body in the UK are once again calling on the Prime Minister of Britain not to forget our petition regarding these concerns.”

The students stressed that “there can be no effective UK-Ghana partnership without education,” and urged both governments to act swiftly to resolve the matter.

They further noted that “it is on this premise we are calling on the two sides to urgently address the issue to enable our compatriots under the GSA scholarship in the UK to have some peace of mind to complete their studies and return to contribute to the development of Ghana.”

The cohort warned that continued inaction could lead to further protests, stating: “in the coming days, the sponsored students in the UK would have no choice but to return to the streets in London to protest and further draw public attention to the matter.”

They concluded: “we hope that our consistent appeal would guide leadership to rise up and address these concerns more robustly.”