Ghanaian doctoral students in the United Kingdom (UK) have called off a planned protest in London set for Friday, April 17, over delays in tuition and living stipend payments by the Ghana Scholarship Authority (GSA).
The move came after the GSA announced it had disbursed funds to clear part of the arrears owed to Ghanaian students in the UK. The students had earlier warned of a demonstration, pointing to months of unpaid fees and stipends.
They cautioned that the delays exposed them to academic penalties, removal from their schools, and potential immigration issues.
In an interview, the President of the PhD Cohort in the UK, Dr Prince Komla Bansah, said while some money has reportedly been released, it remained unclear if the payment covered all affected Ghanaian students or only some beneficiaries. “As it stands now, I’ve done some checks, and it is confirmed that some money has been released. My understanding is that it’s around 37 million Ghana cedi, which is about two million pounds,” he said.
He noted that disbursements from the Ghana Scholarships Secretariat usually address several categories of recipients, making it hard to tell the exact reach of the latest release.
“Monies released to the Ghana Scholarships Secretariat usually cater for all expenditures and all scholarships they grant to students. So as it stands now, we are not very clear whether the money that has been released is solely for the UK or for all Ghana Scholarship beneficiaries,” he stated.
Dr Bansah added that given the development, the planned protest has been paused.
“My suggestion would be that, given what has transpired, and I know we are all in good spirits to ensure that this becomes successful, my thinking is that we can stand down the demonstration for today,” he added.
