Some Ghanaian students in the United Kingdom under the Ghana Scholarship Secretariat are said to be stranded as they have not received their monthly stipends for over 8 months.
An online petition calling for government’s assistance to salvage the situation said, some of the students have been dismissed from their schools while others are being chased by their schools and landlords to pay their rent.
“Others have had to overstay because they cannot get money to go back to their country. Some have been sued by their landlords for refusal to pay rent,” the petition noted.
JoyNews interaction with some of the students confirmed the hardship and struggles.
“Those who even graduated December last year were paid only 3 or 4 months of stipend.”
“I came here in September last year. No stipend has been paid,” they disclosed.
Meanwhile, the Scholarship Secretariat in responding to the matter urged the students to remain steadfast and avoid engaging in any illegal act which could lead to embarrassing the country.
“As we conclave to consider strategies, we urge our scholars globally to forswear any acts of wrongdoings that will result in embarrassment to the Government of Ghana.
“In reality, this is the time to exhibit the real character of resilience as a Ghanaian and we advise that Scholars remain steadfast to the terms and conditions of the scholarship award even in the face of these challenges,” a statement from the Secretariat noted.
The Secretariat assured that it will meet students through its “Time with the Registrar” series to discuss the course of action to settle arrears and scholarship commitments.
The statement noted that students who wish to participate via Zoom must register with their local student leaders. “Schedules for the remaining countries will be informed to you in due time via the various students’ platforms.”
