BY GRACE ZIGAH
The Government of Ghana has insisted that it will proceed with a controversial verification and oath-taking exercise for Ghanaian PhD students studying in the United Kingdom under the Ghana Scholarships Authority (GSA), despite strong opposition from the beneficiaries who have described the initiative as unnecessary and discriminatory.
Ghana’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Sabah Zita Benson, has defended the exercise, maintaining that it is fully supported by the scholarship bond signed by beneficiaries and forms part of the government’s efforts to ensure accountability in the administration of public scholarship funds.
The dispute follows concerns raised by the leadership of the affected PhD students, who recently criticised the planned exercise, arguing that they had already signed legally binding agreements committing themselves to return to Ghana after completing their studies and therefore saw no justification for an additional oath-taking ceremony.
The students further questioned the introduction of what they described as a new requirement after they had already accepted the scholarship under existing conditions.
Responding to the concerns in a Facebook post, Zita Benson dismissed suggestions that the exercise was unlawful or retrospective, insisting that the Ghana Scholarships Authority possesses the legal authority to undertake such verification measures under the scholarship agreement.
According to the High Commissioner, the scholarship bond signed by beneficiaries during the tenure of former Ghana Scholarships Authority Registrar, Kingsley Agyemang, clearly requires recipients to comply with any additional requirements that may be determined by the Authority, including participation in surveys, evaluations and related exercises.
She further pointed to provisions in the bond requiring beneficiaries to return to Ghana within two months after completing their academic programmes abroad, stressing that recipients who fail to honour their obligations could be held liable for the full cost of the scholarship and compelled to refund the state.
Zita Benson argued that the verification and oath-taking exercise is therefore intended to reaffirm beneficiaries’ commitment to fulfilling those obligations and to protect the investment made by Ghanaian taxpayers in funding higher education abroad.
The High Commissioner also criticised what she described as fresh demands being made by the students, including requests for the government to settle all outstanding tuition fees and stipends before they return home, provide clear timelines for payments, and guarantee employment or reintegration into the labour market upon completion of their studies.
She questioned why such concerns were not raised during the period when the scholarships were awarded between 2020 and 2025 under the previous administration of the Ghana Scholarships Authority.
She maintained that the scholarship agreement imposes obligations on beneficiaries but does not require government to secure employment for them after graduation.
“In the bond they signed, I see no obligation by Government to reintegrate them into society,” she stated.
She insisted that the Ghana High Commission in London, acting on behalf of the Ghana Scholarships Authority, would proceed with the verification and oath-taking exercise as planned.
“The Ghana High Commission, acting on behalf of the GSA, shall go ahead with the planned verification and oath-taking,” she declared.
According to the High Commissioner, the exercise is being conducted solely to safeguard public resources and ensure beneficiaries comply with the conditions attached to scholarships financed by Ghanaian taxpayers.
She further indicated that government would not be pressured into abandoning the exercise, arguing that scholarship recipients could not dictate terms to the state after benefiting from public funds.
“We have our reasons for this exercise, and it is in the interest of the taxpayers for us to ensure that we do the right thing even though a huge mess was previously created,” she said.
