Minister of Youth Development and Empowerment, George Opare Addo, has announced plans to end the award of government-funded scholarships for students to study abroad in academic programmes already offered in Ghanaian universities.
Speaking on JoyNews PM Express on July 22, 2025, he said the move is part of a broader effort to reform Ghanas scholarship regime through a new bill currently under consideration.
The bill, he said, aims to address long-standing issues of abuse, duplication, and inefficiency in the administration of scholarships.
What were seeking to cure are the issues, some of the issues that were raised by the Fourth Estate. For instance, we did not have a standard procedure for administering scholarships, and so it was about whom you know, he stated.
He said scholarships were originally intended for brilliant but needy students or to fill national skills gaps in areas such as oil and gas.
However, that purpose has been lost due to a lack of regulation.
How scholarships have been administered was like selling tomatoes in the market. People go and then say, Ah, let me pay ¢10 or ¢20, based on the investigations that the Fourth Estate did. So, we want to address that challenge, he said.
The minister also criticised the fragmentation in scholarship administration, noting that entities like the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), GETFund, and the Scholarship Secretariat all currently issue scholarships independently.
We need a scholarship regime where if GNPC and GETFund have funding, we put them into a scholarship fund and then assign an authority to regulate. It is improper for agencies like GNPC to run scholarship schemes when a central authority exists, he indicated.
Opare Addo disclosed that Ghana has operated without any legal framework governing scholarships since independence.
Ever since Ghana gained independence, we have had no scholarship bill. There was no law as to how scholarships are administered, he noted.
As part of the proposed reforms, the bill will bar the government from sponsoring students to study abroad in fields such as business administration and other disciplines that are already offered in local institutions.
One of the things we are looking at is programmes that can be or are being taught locally. The state must not spend money in sending students abroad, for instance, in business administration, he explained.
He defended the capacity of Ghanas universities, saying, Even some of the schools that some of these students leave Ghana to attend compare their pedigree to UG, KNUST and UCC. So, you ask yourself, are we serious at all?
However, Opare Addo, said scholarships may still be extended to private institutions offering unique programmes not found in public universities.
He cited Ashesi University as an example.
Yes, I know some of the things Ashesi University is doing, and so if there is a need to fund some students. Cost would still be a determining factor. If Ashesi has that potential, why should I send a student out of Ghana when Ashesi can do it. Why wont I give the money to a Ghanaian entrepreneur, so that the money remains in Ghana? he asked.
The proposed scholarship reforms, once passed, are expected to streamline funding, improve transparency, and redirect resources toward building the capacity of local institutions.
MRA/VPO
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