Ghana’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Sabah Zita Benson, has noted that Ghanaian scholars who are both employed and studying in the UK should not claim government stipends.

According to her, some beneficiaries who completed their programme in 2023 are still residing in the UK and insisting that the government keep paying their stipends despite no longer being eligible.

She added, “We have people who have completed their course, maybe in 2023, but they claim that the award letter promised to give them stipends, and so the government owes them stipends, when they were supposed to have completed in 2023, but they’re still here in the UK asking for stipends”.

She noted that, “In fact, the PhD cohort, we owe them about £5 million, which includes tuition and stipends

Her comments follow an appeal by Ghanaian students on the government’s scholarship programme in the UK for the Scholarship Secretariat to release stipends that have been outstanding for months.

Last year, some of the students were said to have been dismissed while others are were chased by their schools and landlords to pay their rent.

An anonymous student shared the collective concern among the scholarship recipients, highlighting the imminent threat of legal actions from landlords due to unpaid rent, adding an additional layer of stress to their academic pursuits.

“As we are entering the fourth month of our accommodation contract, without paying, they are threatening to take us to court for a breach of contract, which is now worrying us. We are stranded and unable to concentrate on our coursework. This is not an individual thing; it is all Ghana Government-sponsored students that are facing this challenge across the UK.”

The gravity of the situation is not limited to individual students but extends to all those sponsored by the Ghanaian government studying across various institutions in the UK.

In response to these challenges, Richard Gyamfi, Head of Diaspora Relations at the Ghana Scholarship Secretariat, acknowledged the pressing issue and reassured the affected students.

Mr Gyamfi explained that the funds released to the Secretariat thus far have primarily been allocated to settling tuition fees.

However, he emphasized ongoing efforts to engage with the Ministry of Finance to secure the necessary funds urgently, ensuring the prompt disbursement of the outstanding stipends to alleviate the financial burden faced by the students.

Mr Gyamfi indicated that discussions are actively taking place within the parliamentary realm to address the financial constraints and to advocate for a swift resolution to the current predicament faced by the students on government scholarships in the UK.

“The monies released to us so far, we have used that to settle most of the tuition fees, and we are waiting on the Ministry of Finance to release funds to us so we can settle the stipends. We are in Parliament to defend our budget and also in Parliament to plead with the government to release some funds to us so we can settle the outstanding stipends.”