Ghana owes over one billion cedis in UK scholarship commitments– Registrar

The Registrar of the Scholarship Secretariat, Kwaku Asafo Agyei, has revealed that Ghana currently owes more than one billion cedis in scholarship commitments to the United Kingdom.

Speaking in an exclusive interview on Nhyira FM’s Morning Show, Asafo Agyei explained that the UK-based Crown Agency, responsible for organising short courses for Ghanaian scholarship recipients, has ceased operations, raising concerns about accountability in the scheme.
“Ghana currently owes over one billion cedis in scholarships in the UK. This has to be paid to allow beneficiaries to access their tuition," he stated. “The Crown Agency in the UK, which was responsible for organising short courses for beneficiaries, has disappeared," he said.

Mr. Asafo Agyei also cited an audit report which revealed that the previous administration prioritized funding for short courses while neglecting regular academic programs, undermining the Secretariat's core mandate.
"I called for an audit into suspected scandals at the Secretariat. The report shows that the previous administration prioritized paying for short courses while avoiding regular academic programs," he indicated.

He also clarified that the Secretariat is not responsible for funding dependents accompanying scholarship beneficiaries abroad. However, Asafo Agyei alleged that his predecessor misused resources to sponsor dependents and provide them with monthly stipends, which he described as an abuse of office.
“The National Scholarship Secretariat is not responsible for the cost of any dependent who accompanies a beneficiary. However, my predecessors paid billions of cedis to sponsor beneficiaries which is unnecessary cost to the state," he said.

Additionally, Mr. Asafo Agyei disclosed that certain appointees under President Akufo-Addo’s government were issued authority letters for 10-year visas to attend short courses that lasted only two weeks.