Ghana’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Sabah Zita Benson, has disclosed that the government owes about £5 million in unpaid grants and tuition to Ghanaian PhD students in the UK.
Speaking on PM on Joy News on Thursday, April 23, 2026, she indicated that the debt includes students who have already finished their studies but continue to call for payment under the terms of their award letters.
“We have people who have completed their course, maybe in 2023, but they claim that the award letter promised to give them stipends, and so the government owes them stipends. They were supposed to have completed in 2023, but they’re still here in the UK asking for stipends,” she said.
She also noted that the situation is particularly pronounced among PhD candidates, whose total claims now run into millions.
“If you look at the leadership of the PhD students—at least the ones I met—when they threatened to protest last week on 17th April, they have completed the PhD. The leadership that I met, the President, my own good friend Pansa, he’s completed and defended his thesis,” she stated.
According to her, most students have completed their studies and have started their professional careers while still awaiting the outstanding payments.
“His colleagues have completed, but they are waiting for stipends. And some of them have already started working. They are already teaching in universities here, but they are waiting for taxpayers’ money to offset their stipends for them,” she added.
“That is why I believe Article, Section 31 of the new scholarships act is good because for situations like that, if you decide to stay here and teach, then you have to refund the money that we’ve spent on you,” she stated.