Ghana Scholarship Secretariat’s reluctance in paying research grants/ bursaries due graduate students of UEW

1. The Graduate Students’ Association of Ghana, University of Education, Winneba chapter (GRASAG-UEW) through its leadership is registering our displeasure and dissatisfaction with the Ghana Scholarship Secretariat and, for that matter, the Government of Ghana for their total neglect and apparent deafening silence in the non-disbursement of national bursaries due graduate students at the University of Education, Winneba for three (3) consecutive academic years. This excludes the current 2022/2023 academic year.

2. It is worth noting that these bursaries are granted to all postgraduate students in various public universities with the aim of aiding their research work during a set period, which is typically disbursed on an annual basis.

However, in the case of graduate students at the University of Education, Winneba, this only happens in our dreams. Our members have been hoping and continue to hope as of today that the national bursaries would be paid for the 2019/2020, 2020/2021, and 2021/2022 academic years, but still remain a fantasy.

3. Only the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 academic year groups have had access to the portal to register which ostensibly gives a glimmer of hope that they will be paid later. However, credible Information available to us shows that the Ghana scholarship secretariat has paid the bursaries of almost all our sister universities at the expense of graduate students of the University of Education, Winneba.

4. This circumstance has caused a simmering hostility and feud between GRASAG-UEW leadership and its members because all explanations presented to them throughout the period have grown boring to their ears and even defy rationality to accept as humans.

What has fueled members' rage the most is the cherry-picking or randomized method of disbursing a bursary that is intended to be shared equitably and equally across member institutions.

Aside from the aforementioned outliers, almost every other public university has received its due funds. What else could this be if not discrimination and neglect?

5. As if the delayed payment is not enough, our members who entered the University in the 2021/2022 academic year have not had access to the portal to register or to even think of receiving their funds despite the joint effort of leaders of both National and Local GRASAG in engaging the Ghana Scholarship Secretariat. The Ghana Scholarship Secretariat should not interpret our leniency to follow due channels in resolving issues as a weakness.

6. As a result, we are demanding from the Ghana Scholarship Secretariat and the Government of Ghana, through our mother association GRASAG-National, that they:

a) Pay ALL outstanding bursaries due our members of the 2019/2020 and the full payment for the 2020/2021 academic years latest by Thursday, 16th February, 2023.

b) Take immediate steps to open the portal for the 2021/2022 academic year group to register and disburse all their due funds by Thursday, 16th February, 2023.

c) Open the portal to register the current 2022/2023 academic year students and disburse their due funds as well.

Based on the issues raised thus far, and the fact that the Ghana Scholarship Secretariat has demonstrated the capacity to pay almost every other public university and facilitate their registration, it is only fair and appropriate that their outfit, without further excuses, pays heed to all of our demands without delay.

7. We are compelled to call on the President of the Republic of Ghana who over the years has demonstrated a proven record of championing access to quality education to intervene because postgraduate education and research are coterminous, hence, the urgent need for the disbursement of the bursaries to beneficiaries in order to achieve its intended purpose. We also plead that the Honorable Minister for Education looks into this lingering issue that is already having an immeasurable toll on UEW graduate students concerning their research work.

8. The leadership of GRASAG-UEW is not necessarily interested in reechoing the problems in accessing the national bursaries, but our focus is on the urgent need to resolve our issue of delayed outstanding and full payments, and the subsequent opening of the portal to register other members to receive their bursaries.

9. As an association, we have observed that the Ghana Scholarship Secretariat has shown bad faith and tone-deaf posturing in response to the demands of UEW Graduate students thus far; therefore, we are giving the government and management of the Ghana Scholarship Secretariat two weeks to do the necessary before any inconveniences occur. We reiterate that we are ever ready to pursue all legitimate methods possible to ensure that the portal is made available for members to register and their due bursaries paid to them.

Colleague postgraduate students, members of the media, and the general public, Greetings!