The Africa Education Watch (Eduwatch) and the Institute for Education Studies (IFEST-Ghana) have issued a joint statement calling on the government to suspend its plans to award foreign masters scholarships to Ghanaian students.
The groups argue that GETFund’s funding of foreign scholarships is unauthorized and beyond its legally defined scope of expenditures.
“Plans by GETFund to spend directly on Foreign Scholarships in 2024/25 are therefore outside the approved expenditure items in the 2024 GETFund Formula approved by Parliament, and thus, illegal,” they said.
According to them, foreign scholarships do not provide value for money, as over 95% of the programs are available locally in Ghanaian universities at a significantly lower cost.
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“This does not assure Value For Money, and must be discouraged in line with His Excellency, the President’s pledge to protect the public purse,” they said.
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They also expressed concern over the prioritization of foreign scholarships over pressing needs in the education sector; the renovation of basic schools under trees, sheds, and dilapidated structures.
“The decision to spend scarce education sector resources on foreign scholarships for Masters students who end up studying courses existing in Ghana is not just wasteful, but does not represent prioritized spending in a sector with over 5,000 basic schools under trees, sheds, and dilapidated structures in the 21st Century,” they said.
Eduwatch and IFEST-Ghana called on the Minister for Education Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum to instruct GETFund to cease the ongoing Foreign Scholarship Application process and for Parliament to stop GETFund from spending on foreign scholarships.
They have also urged presidential candidates to commit to reforming the public scholarship system to make it meritorious, effective, efficient, transparent, and sustainable.
Find the Full Statement Below
