GNPC Foundation rejects claims of abandoning medical students in Cuba

The GNPC Foundation says that allegations being made to the effect that it has abandoned medical students in Cuba are incorrect.

Executive Director for the Foundation, Dr. Dominic Eduah, says that they have, on the contrary been “overly committed”

He says that there is regular communication between the Foundation and the students to ensure their well-being.

His comments come following complaints from medical students about the delay in the payment of their stipend.

The students also said that they were facing harsh treatments from Cuban authorities and the Ghana Mission in the country.

According to them, long delays in the payment of stipends, the lack of access to basic healthcare amid a global pandemic, and what they call the unresponsive attitude of the Ghanaian mission in that country, are to blame for their situation.

The students believe that the harsh conditions they are facing is what led to the death of one of their colleague, Erasmus Klutse.

Dr. Eduah, speaking to the media after visiting the family of the late Erasmus Klutse, disclosed that the delay in the payment of stipends was due to some disagreements with the students.

He said that the students were insisting on receiving the money in cash, although financial protocols do not allow that.

He said the GNPC wanted funds transferred onto the financial cards of students instead.

“From the GNPC’s angle, we want to state that we have been overly committed as far as our contract with the students is concerned. We have formed a monitoring team. We travel to Cuba every year but for COVID-19 we would have gone last year. We have been engaging students on their issues. Not that we have abandoned them. On the side of them being served low-quality meals, we beg to differ,” citinewsroom.com quotes him as saying.

A memo from the Ghana Scholarship Secretariat, dated March 18, 2021, has attributed the delay to “the transitional formalities which are affecting the release of funds for the settlement of scholarship commitments”.

“[The] Mission is therefore respectfully requested to take note of the development and disseminate the information to all scholarship beneficiaries. Students are advised to be prudent and eschew embarrassing actions in their respective countries,” the Ghana Scholarship Secretariat said in the document signed by Registrar of Scholarships, Kingsley Agyemang.