Ghana’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and Ireland, Sabah Zita Benson, has said the Commission has received more than £300,000 as the second-quarter disbursement from the Scholarship Secretariat.
According to Ms Benson, the funds are being released gradually as government works to settle outstanding scholarship-related debts inherited by the administration.
She disclosed on TV3’s Ghana Tonight, Wednesday, August 12, 2026 that the first-quarter allocation was received and disbursed in May, following the completion of the required administrative processes.
“We disbursed somewhere late May for the first quarter and I can confirm that we have received second quarter disbursement.
“What we received for the second quarter is about £300,000 plus,” she said.
Ms Benson said the outstanding debt inherited by the mission is estimated at between £35 million and £37 million, stressing that the funds involved are public resources and therefore require proper budgeting and parliamentary approval.
She explained that the amount currently being disbursed is based on the budget approved for the year and released to the mission by the Scholarship Secretariat.
“So, we are doing it bit by bit because the debt that we came to meet is between £35 million and £37 million and you know that this is government money. Everything has to be budgeted and sent to Parliament for approval.
“So, the budget that was approved this year is what the Scholarship Secretariat is disbursing to us,” she added.
Ms Benson also clarified that her role is limited to disbursing scholarship funds received by the mission and that she does not award scholarships.
“I am just someone who disburses the money, I don’t give scholarships. The only thing I do is when the money hit our accounts, I have to make sure the money is disbursed accordingly,” she said.
She disclosed that about £3 million was paid towards the outstanding debt last year, while additional payments have commenced this year.
“As of last year, we paid £3 million out of the £35 million pounds and this year, we have started paying some of these debts,” she said.
Ghanaian students pursuing undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral programmes in the United Kingdom under the Ghana Scholarship Authority (GSA) staged a protest on July 30, 2026 over prolonged delays in the payment of their tuition fees and living stipends.
The students raised concerns over months of unpaid fees and stipends, warning that the situation has left many at risk of being withdrawn from their institutions and facing possible deportation.
With the second disbursement received, the High Commission is expected to settle some unpaid fees and stipends for these students to ease their burden.
