The government has released GH₵25 million for the payment of student loans, the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) has announced.
During a press briefing in Accra, the president of the student body, Daniel Kyeremeh Oppong, also disclosed that the government had cleared payment for 58,617 teacher trainees.
This latest development follows persistent calls by NUGS, communicating the challenges of students abroad and the need to expedite payment of outstanding allowances for teacher trainees.
Speaking at the presser, the NUGS leader expressed gratitude to the government for swiftly paying the student loans and teacher trainee allowances.
“As a result of the advocacies we had, the student loan trust fund (SLTF) through the Minister for Education today, after the interview, is disbursing GH₵5 million Ghana to the account of beneficiaries immediately after this particular press conference. The remaining GH₵20 million will be disbursed exactly two weeks from today, 14 June 2024”.
“Thanks to the diligent efforts of the Minister for Education. Importantly, even students who submitted their forms yesterday will receive their disbursement. This is a great achievement for the Ghana National Union of Ghana Students, and we commend the media, the Minister for Education and the government for playing pivotal roles in what we see today. Today, all Ghanaian students who found themselves on the student loan trust fund could now get into their accounts and start withdrawing funds for their fees”.
“So far, a total of 58,617 teacher trainees have been cleared for payment. We call on all principals who have not yet forwarded the data of their students to do so promptly to ensure clearance and payment. We have been assured that GH₵27 million is ready to settle the first two months of the four-month arrears on Monday, 3rd June, 2024. The remaining two months will follow subsequently,” he said.
Mr. Kyeremeh Oppong further appealed to the Scholarship Secretariat to urgently address the delay in the payment of stipends to Ghanaian students on government scholarships abroad.
“As a matter of urgency, we want to send this clear information out there to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to the office of the Chief of Staff, to the Scholarship Secretariat to also expedite plans to quickly pay students in the diaspora whose stipend has not been paid”.
“NUGS will work tirelessly to ensure that such delays do not occur in the future and will continue to advocate for timely interventions,” he added.