Academic claims some students paid £5k to get £40k scholarship from Secretariat
Sulemana Issifu
Sulemana Issifu, a Research Fellow at the Hans Ruthenberg Institute, University of Hohenheim, has raised alarming allegations against the Scholarship Secretariat during an interview on Joy FM’s Newsfile programme.
Read full articleIssifu disclosed instances where students purportedly paid hefty sums of money to secure scholarships, shedding light on concerning practices within the Secretariat.
“Students tell me that they pay huge sums of money. Some have told me that they pay as much as £5,000 in order to get a scholarship of £40,000,” he stated during the interview.
He further revealed that students allegedly paid up to ₵30,000 solely for a letter from the Scholarship Secretariat, which acted as a guarantee for obtaining a visa, suggesting a wider issue of visa racketeering.
In addition to financial irregularities, Issifu highlighted cases of nepotism, citing instances where individuals with PhDs were offered scholarships to pursue further education, while many deserving young Ghanaians struggled to afford their first degree.
The conversation surrounding nepotism at the Scholarship Secretariat was reignited following an investigative piece by the Fourth Estate titled ‘Scholarship Bonanza,’ which identified beneficiaries with close ties to key government officials, including children of the National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and a former Inspector General of Police.
The revelations have sparked widespread condemnation, with calls for transparency and accountability within the Secretariat. However, the Registrar has defended the Secretariat, maintaining its innocence in the matter.
