Ghana’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Sabah Zita Benson, has taken a firm stance against Ghanaian scholars in the UK who continue to demand stipends after completing their studies.
She insists that the practice is unjustifiable.
Speaking on PM Express Business Edition on Thursday, she said some beneficiaries of government scholarships have overstayed their academic timelines while still expecting financial support from the state.
“We have people who have completed their course, maybe in 2023, but they claim that the award letter promised to give them stipends, and so the government owes them stipends, when they were supposed to have completed in 2023, but they’re still here in the UK asking for stipends,” she stated.
She revealed that the situation is particularly pronounced among PhD students, with a significant financial burden already incurred by the government.
“In fact, the PhD cohort, we owe them about £5 million, which includes tuition and stipends,” she said.
According to her, some of the individuals demanding these payments have already completed their academic work and moved into employment.
“If you look at the leadership of the pH PhD students, at least the ones I met, when they threatened to protest last week, 17th April. Yes, they have completed the PhD. The leadership that I met, the President, my own good friend, Pansa, has completed and defended his thesis.
“His colleagues have completed, but they are waiting for stipends. And some of them have already started working. They are already teaching in universities here, but they are waiting for taxpayers’ money to offset their stipends for them,” she explained.
The High Commissioner argued that such actions place an unfair burden on Ghanaian taxpayers and undermine accountability in scholarship administration.
She pointed to provisions in the new scholarships framework as a necessary corrective measure.
“That is why I believe Article, Section 31 of the new scholarships act is good because for situations like that, if you decide to stay here and teach, then you have to refund the money that we’ve spent on you,” she added.
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Source: www.myjoyonline.com
