Students under the Government of Ghana scholarship in Morocco have stated that they are uncertain about how long they can hold on in the African country, as they cry over their eight months unpaid stipends.
The students who number over 150 say the non payment of their $250 stipend and other allowances has affected their academic work and their means of livelihood is at the mercy of friends.
A distraught student also stated that “we have started a new semester and since September last year we have not received our book and health allowance”
He added that “we have made our plights known to the scholarship secretariat but it seems no one cares because their last message was as far back as July”.
Below is a copy of the reply from the Scholarship Secretariat to the mission in Morocco.
Meanwhile, several hundreds of Ghanaian students on scholarship in Morocco, Algeria, Russia, Ukraine and other countries have also made similar claims, as they cry over the government of Ghana’s inability to pay their stipends.
In a letter to the Scolarship Secretariat from the Union of Ghanaian Students Abroad (UGHASA) the students noted that “Students, currently, are not able to meet their cost of study, transport, health bills, hostel fees, registration fees and even food. We have resorted to borrowing to take care of ourselves. We do not meet up with payment deadlines and find ourselves in more trouble”.
Over the past few years, there have been similar reports of students on government of Ghana scholarships abroad getting stranded, with some of them going through difficult situations, including ejection from their hostels.
By Kwaku Boakye Karikari
