Ghana’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and Ireland, Sabah Zita Benson, has alleged that some beneficiaries of government-sponsored Master’s and PhD scholarships in the UK travelled with their spouses and several children at the expense of the Ghanaian taxpayer.

According to her, some scholarship recipients brought entire families to the UK, with the government allegedly paying for their airfare, visas, tuition and stipends.

Speaking on TV3’s GhanaTonight and sighted by GhanaWeb on Thursday, August 13, 2026, Benson said she had personally reviewed documents relating to some of the cases.

“I have about three files or maybe four of such people who were brought in, whole families. So, one person, it could be the husband or the wife, gets a scholarship to come and study,” she indicated.

She said some of the beneficiaries were pursuing programmes such as Master of Business Administration (MBA) and policy studies, which she argued were available at Ghanaian universities.

“And then the person, the awardee, comes along with the whole family. Some of these families were as many as four children plus spouse, five children plus spouse, three children plus spouse,” she stated.

Benson further alleged that the government paid for premium visa applications, air tickets and other expenses for the accompanying family members.

“We were paying for premium visas for these awardees and their families. We were paying for air tickets for all of them. And then we were paying for yellow fever card for a vaccination,” she disclosed.

She claimed the government paid £8,160 for each family member who accompanied a scholarship recipient to the UK.

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“We were paying 8,160 pounds each to every family member that accompanied the awardee for coming to study one course that can be studied in Ghana,” Benson stated.

The High Commissioner described the practice as a misuse of public funds and said it contributed to the financial burden facing Ghana’s mission in the UK.

She said Ghana currently owes about £35 million, arguing that the alleged expenditure on families of scholarship recipients formed part of the broader financial challenges.

“Make them refund everything, including visa fees. And whoever did it should be charged for causing financial loss to the state,” she stressed.

Benson also criticised the arrangement on the grounds that Ghana invests in the education of beneficiaries but may subsequently lose their services when they remain abroad.

“What happens to the money that we invested in them? Somebody has to be bold enough to let them know that this cannot continue,” she said.

She called for a review of the scholarship arrangements and accountability for officials or beneficiaries found to have abused the scheme.

Watch the video below:

“During the previous administration, I have files of people who brought their spouses and children to the UK after being awarded scholarships. Some brought as many as four or five children, in addition to their spouses. It’s insane. They didn’t go there simply to study.

- H.E.… pic.twitter.com/pZjsw5dSrk

— #TV3GH (@tv3_ghana) August 13, 2026