Alex Kwaku Asafo-Agyei has justify provision in bill restricting foreign scholarships
The Registrar of the Ghana Scholarships Secretariat, Alex Kwaku Asafo-Agyei, has justified a key provision in the proposed Scholarships Authority Bill, which restricts the award of foreign scholarships to academic programmes that are already available in Ghana.
Speaking at the official launch of the 2025 Local Tertiary Scholarships Programme in Accra on Wednesday, July 30, Asafo-Agyei said the clause is intended to strengthen local institutions and reduce the country’s heavy reliance on foreign training.
According to him, the tendency for students to pursue studies abroad under the excuse of inadequate facilities at home contributes to a cycle of underdevelopment.
“We usually want to travel out for education under the guise of unavailable equipment locally for better resources abroad. But if we don’t empower our local institutions, how will they raise revenue to build their capacity?” he asked.
He warned that failing to invest in local academic infrastructure only perpetuates a vicious cycle where institutions remain underfunded and under-equipped.
“There must be an end to this trend. That is why we took the decision that if a course is available locally, then students must pursue it here,” he said.
He further disclosed that Ghana currently owes the UK approximately £40 million in scholarship-related expenses, an amount he said could have been invested in domestic universities to boost capacity and infrastructure.
“Imagine if this debt was owed to local institutions. When we pay, they generate revenue, and that enables them to expand infrastructure and acquire the very equipment we claim they lack,” Asafo-Agyei noted.
The Scholarships Authority Bill is expected to provide a comprehensive legal framework for administering government scholarships and streamlining funding sources.
AS/VPO
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