The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Minority in Parliament has called for the payment of tuition and stipends owed Ghanaian students on Government Scholarships abroad.
They said the failure of the government to honour its obligations to the students had put the future of the students in jeopardy and placed the nation in a bad light.
Dr Clement Abas Apaak, the Deputy Ranking Member on Parliament’s Education Committee, in a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency in Bolgatanga, said the students, some of whom were the brightest, were granted scholarships to pursue higher education in prestigious institutions in the United Kingdom.
“However, today, instead of celebrating academic success and contributing to national development, many face dire circumstances, with some unable to afford tuition fees, facing expulsion from their institutions, and threatened with deportation,” the statement said.
The Minority noted that the future of the students and by extension, the future of Ghana should not be jeopardized any longer, due to what it described as “gross negligence.”
The statement called on the government to reopen all negotiations between the affected universities and the Ghana Scholarship Secretariat that had since been cancelled due to non-payment of fees and stipends to students.
“Restoring these relationships is critical to ensuring that future students are not denied the opportunity to study abroad and return to support the development of our dear country,” it said.
The Minority reminded the government that neglecting the students was not just a betrayal of individual students but of the nation.
“These students are the people we expect to return home with the requisite knowledge, skills, and expertise needed to drive national development,” the Minority said.
It said, “We stand with the students and their families, and we will continue to use all available avenues to hold this government accountable.”
According to the statement, Ghana’s youth deserved better, and the future of the country demanded same, adding that “It is partly for this reason, that the next NDC government, led by John Dramani Mahama, seeks the mandate of Ghanaians to, amongst others, introduce legislation to usher in a new era of government scholarship administration.
“The new scholarship regime will be transparent and will prohibit the award of scholarships to government officials and streamline scholarships across multiple sectors to do away with the current uncoordinated regime,” the statement said.
Source: GNA