Ghanaian students currently benefiting from the government’s scholarship program in the United Kingdom (UK) have called on the Scholarship Secretariat to promptly release the stipends that have been pending for the last three months.
The students are now facing potential eviction from their rented accommodations, creating a distressing situation, especially with the onset of winter.
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.”