Ghanaian students on scholarship in UK risk eviction over delayed stipend

Ghanaian students on the Government of Ghana scholarship in the UK have appealed to the Scholarship Secretariat to release stipends owed to them. According to the students, they face eviction from their landlords as the government has failed to honour the release of stipends in the last three months.

Speaking to Citi News, one of the students who spoke on condition of anonymity indicated that their lives would be miserable should they be evicted, especially as winter has set in. “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.”

Meanwhile, the Head of Diaspora Relations at the Ghana Scholarship Secretariat, Richard Gyamfi, says efforts are in place to get the Ministry of Finance to release funds for the settlement of the arrears.

“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.”

By: Caleb Kudah