The Youth Development and Empowerment Minister has disclosed that the government is currently negotiating with educational institutions across the world to settle outstanding scholarship debts.
George Opare Addo assures affected Ghanaian students that the money owed will be paid.
Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express on Tuesday, July 22, the Minister revealed that the government inherited a significant financial burden in the scholarship system.
“The current bill that I have is over ¢700 million in debt that we have to find money to pay,” he said.
He explained that this amount reflects fees owed to various institutions globally, and it has fallen on the new administration to deal with mounting pressure from the affected schools.
“There is a debt of fees that we have across the world. And so my registrar now has to go around the world and negotiate with schools, and that is what we’ve been undertaking in the last four, five months. I keep sending him — go here, go there — because you keep getting threats all over the world, ‘We are going to sack your students’,” he said.
Mr Opare Addo stressed that the situation demands urgent attention and coordination at the highest level.
“It involves Ghanaian students; it involves lives. It involves our citizens. And so we must find the money to pay,” he said.
He added, “The Chief of Staff has been very helpful. With the Finance Minister and the Chief of Staff, we are working closely to offset the debt… So yes, we will pay, but we have to negotiate. We don’t have ¢700 million in cash.”
He noted that while some of the institutions have shown understanding, the government continues to engage them, explaining that the administration inherited the problem and is working gradually to resolve it.
“Some have been very understanding, and they know that we are a new government that has come in. We inherited these problems, and so we are aligning and fixing them gradually,” he explained.
When confronted with reports that some institutions had issued warnings to students to vacate school premises over unpaid fees, Mr Opare Addo acknowledged the development but emphasised that the root of the crisis predated the current administration.
“You can’t blame this government for the mess we inherited. And most of these things have been outstanding for a year or two,” he said.
He further revealed that the government is auditing the system to establish the true scope of the debt.
“We are also doing an audit of the true states. A lot of the students have opted out. We held a meeting with some of them in London and gave them some options.”
Asked about those options, the Minister declined to provide full details but offered insight into how some students who had completed their programs were handling their entitlements.
“Somebody might have finished school for two years, and government still owes him or her stipends, but per the law, once you finish, you must come back home. And a lot of them want to remain there,” he said.
Highlighting how government policies were being circumvented, he added, “You know that they have this ‘no objection’ letter they request to be able to work for a year or two, to gain experience, which should not be the norm. It’s against the charter that they were using to operate, but it was being done for them.”
George Opare Addo said students were asked to decide if they would return or forfeit their stipends.
“If I pay your fees, you must come back and help. So, do you want to stay? If you are going to stay there, I’m not going to pay your stipends, because you have already finished school. And so, a lot of them said, Okay, let us stipends go.”
He emphasised that the audit would clarify the real figures.
“A lot of the figures, when you delve into it, show that there are discrepancies, and so once the audit team finishes all its work, we’ll have a clearer picture. But as of now, the bill we have seated on our tables is over ¢700 million.”
