Nearly 200 Ghanaian students studying at the University of Memphis in the United States have been handed a temporary lifeline after the Government of
Nearly 200 Ghanaian students studying at the University of Memphis in the United States have been handed a temporary lifeline after the Government of Ghana made a $1 million emergency payment to the institution.
The intervention came just days after the university threatened to revoke the students’ scholarships, evict them from on-campus housing, and initiate deportation proceedings over unpaid tuition and housing fees.
The crisis stemmed from a ballooning debt of $3.6 million owed by the Ghana Scholarship Secretariat (GSS), which is responsible for disbursing funds for government-sponsored students abroad.
Although the $1 million transfer has eased immediate tensions, a balance of $2.2 million remains unsettled.
How the Crisis Unfolded
Earlier this month, the University of Memphis issued an August 9, 2025, deadline, warning that Ghanaian students would lose their legal residency status if fees remained unpaid.
The announcement triggered fear and anxiety among the affected students, most of whom are enrolled in critical fields such as science, engineering, and business.
At a press conference in Accra on July 30, 2025, the Registrar of the Scholarship Secretariat, Alex Kwaku Asafo-Agyei, admitted to delays in payment but reassured that no student would face deportation.
He explained that the delay was due to an ongoing audit and the bureaucratic process of routing funds through the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department and the Bank of Ghana.
“We are now processing a $1 million payment,” Asafo-Agyei said at the time, a statement later confirmed by the university when the funds finally cleared.
Impact of Ghana’s Political Transition
The President of the University of Memphis, Dr. Bill Hardgrave, acknowledged Ghana’s political transition after the December 2024 elections as a contributing factor to the financial delays.
“I think there was a regime change in Ghana, and that affected the budget, but we’re hopeful that gets corrected because we’d love to keep those students on campus,” he said.
This explanation has reignited concerns about how changes in government and weak institutional processes continue to disrupt the foreign scholarship programmes, leaving students vulnerable in foreign countries.
Recurring Challenge for Ghanaian Students Abroad
This is not the first time Ghanaian students abroad have faced such a situation.
Over the years, similar crises have been reported in the United Kingdom, Russia, China, and several Eastern European countries, where government-sponsored students have been threatened with expulsion due to delayed or defaulted payments.
Observers argue that these repeated incidents point to systemic inefficiencies within the Scholarship Secretariat and broader financial management challenges in Ghana’s educational support system.
Temporary Relief, Long-Term Questions
While the $1 million payment has offered temporary relief, the outstanding $2.2 million debt still hangs over the students.
To cushion the situation, the University of Memphis has encouraged donations to its Gary Shorb International Student Support Fund, which provides emergency assistance to international students facing financial hardship.
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