Ghana’s High Commission in the United Kingdom has maintained that it will proceed with the verification and oath-taking exercise for Ghanaian PhD students sponsored by the Ghana Scholarships Authority (GSA), despite objections from the students.

The students had opposed the exercise, arguing that they had already signed scholarship bonds that require them to return to Ghana after completing their studies.

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They also questioned the need for an additional oath and raised concerns about unpaid tuition fees and stipends owed to some beneficiaries.

However, Ghana’s High Commissioner to the UK, Sabah Zita Benson, has defended the decision, saying the scholarship agreements give the GSA room to introduce measures to monitor beneficiaries and ensure that they honour their obligations.

Benson referred to the terms of the bonds signed by the students, particularly provisions requiring beneficiaries to comply with GSA requirements and return to Ghana after completing their programmes.

She said the agreements also provide for possible recovery of scholarship funds from beneficiaries who fail to meet the conditions attached to their awards.

“Clause 4 says ‘I will abide by all requirements set by the GSA…including all surveys and evaluations as requested’,” she said.

She added that the students had also agreed to return to Ghana within two months after completing their studies.

“Clause 5 says ‘upon completion of my studies, I commit to returning to my home country after 2 months’,” she stated.

The High Commissioner also pushed back against a demand by the students for guaranteed reintegration into Ghana’s job market after completing their studies.

According to her, there is no provision in the scholarship bond that requires the government to secure employment or reintegrate beneficiaries into the labour market.

“In the bond they signed, I see no obligation by Government to reintegrate them into society,” she said.

Benson also questioned the timing of the students’ concerns, noting that the affected beneficiaries received their scholarships between 2020 and 2025.

She particularly questioned why some of the demands, including claims of outstanding stipends, were not raised earlier.

“Let me state here clearly, these students were brought between 2020-2025 by Kingsley Agyeman and they claim GSA OWES them 40 months stipends. Why didn’t they make these demands when Kingsley was still in charge?” she asked.

The students, in their earlier statement, said they were already subject to an annual progress review by the Ghana Scholarship Secretariat, which they said was used to assess their academic progress and renew their scholarship letters.

“We are aware of our annual progress review, which the Ghana Scholarship Secretariat (GSS) undertakes to validate, assess our members' progress and renew their scholarship letters,” they stated.

Benson, however, said the planned oath does not amount to imposing a new condition on the beneficiaries after the fact.

She argued that the GSA's authority to conduct further checks is already covered by the terms of the scholarship agreement.

“Per the Bond signed, and the new oath we are asking them to reaffirm, I see nothing retroactive in the new Act,” she said.

She maintained that the High Commission would therefore continue with the exercise on behalf of the GSA.

“The Ghana High Commission, acting on behalf of the GSA shall go ahead with the planned verification and oath taking,” she stated.

Benson said the decision was aimed at protecting public funds and ensuring that beneficiaries fulfil the conditions attached to the scholarships.

“We have our reasons for this exercise and it is in the interest of the tax payers for us to ensure that we do the right thing even though a huge mess was previously created,” she said.

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The High Commissioner also rejected attempts to pressure the government into abandoning the exercise, insisting that beneficiaries must comply with the conditions under which they received the scholarships.

“Nobody is going to hold Government to ransom because they were fortunate enough to get scholarship award to go after their life’s dream of getting a Ph.D,” she stated.



MAG/EB

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