David Farman, spokesperson for Ghanaian students currently studying in UK
David Farman, spokesperson for Ghanaian students currently studying in the United Kingdom, has raised concerns over the plight of more than 50 Ghanaian scholarship beneficiaries who are currently stranded due to unpaid tuitio fees by the Government of Ghana.
Speaking in a recent interview with Joy News, he explained that since October 2024, students have faced uncertainty following a communication from their respective universities regarding outstanding tuition fees under the Ghana Scholarships Secretariat sponsorship.
“Since last year, October, we received emails from the university concerning the payment of fees. Unfortunately, the issue has not been resolved to date,” he said.
He noted that following an April 6, 2025, meeting between university authorities and the Registrar of the Ghana Scholarships Secretariat, students were hopeful the matter would be resolved.
However, a week later, the university sent a follow-up e-mail indicating that the engagement with the Ghanaian officials did not yield any concrete outcome.
Consequently, students have been informed that they would now be responsible for their fees.
“We had that engagement and we realised that the Secretariat had agreed with the University to make 10% of the total debt of which the university decided rejected that offer.
“So, it boils down to the fact that as a result of the university rejecting the 10% payment which the Secretariat actually proposed. That is why they are taking the stand with the 90% being taken care of later or by students”, he stated.
According to David Farman, the university categorised students based on the amount owed.
“If you owe, and you do not have any debt, you are allowed to graduate and have your certificate. If you owe less than £500, you’d be able to graduate but not have your certificate,” he remarked.
He then explained that the scholarship agreement with the Ghana Scholarships Secretariat was supposed to cover full tuition and provide monthly stipends of around £10. However, since arriving in the UK some as early as September 2023 and others in January 2024 students have not received any stipend or fee payments.
“It was a Ghana Scholarship Secretariat Scholarship, which is the popular GSS scholarship, and the scholarship covered fees being paid and in a monthly stipend of around 10 pounds, which none of that has been addressed since arriving in January 2024 and some students also arriving in September as well.
“Our team, including the executives, even petitioned the Audit Service when the situation worsened. Though we appreciate that the current Registrar made efforts to engage the university, unfortunately, those efforts have not been enough,” David Farman added.
He clarified that while the Secretariat proposed to make a 10% part-payment of the debt to the university, the institution rejected the offer in the absence of a clear payment plan for the remaining 90%.
As a result of the impasse, students have now resorted to crowdfunding to avoid being expelled or barred from graduation.
“We are hoping to raise over £400,000. If each student gets about £9,000 in public support, it could ease the burden significantly. So far, we haven’t raised any amount yet, as the GoFundMe account was only set up after our engagement with the university earlier this week,” he said.
He appealed to well-meaning Ghanaians, businesses, and philanthropists to support the stranded students as the university has given a strict deadline of June 1, 2025, to settle all outstanding balances or face sanctions.
JKB/EB
Meanwhile, here’s why Bright Simons has vowed to fight Ibrahim Mahama’s GH¢10 million defamation lawsuit