More than 100 Ghanaian doctoral students studying at UK universities say they face deportation after their government failed to pay promised scholarships and tuition fees, leaving many stranded without living allowances.
A student group led by Prince Komla Bansah has petitioned Downing Street and Keir Starmer, asking for help in persuading the Ghanaian government to clear a backlog of fees and stipends running into millions of pounds. Bansah said some students have already been deported after their universities withdrew registrations for non-payment, while others have been evicted or forced into debt and part-time work to survive. “For most of these students, I don’t know how they survive,” he said, adding that many rely on loans from home.
The petition warns that the crisis is so severe some students face court cases over unpaid rent and have had to depend on food banks. Affected students are at institutions across Britain, including University College London, Robert Gordon University, and the universities of Nottingham, Bradford, Warwick, Lincoln and Liverpool.
Ghanaian officials say the administration of President John Mahama, sworn in January, inherited debts to about 110 UK institutions estimated at £32m. Alex Kwaku Asafo-Agyei, registrar of the Ghana scholarship secretariat in Accra, said an audit of scholarships awarded by the previous government is under way and a pause has been placed on new scholarships to the UK. After a fact-finding visit to the UK, he said he drew up instalment plans with some universities, though some institutions later rescinded agreements.
Asafo-Agyei said Ghana had made “significant payments to our partner institutions in the UK” and that officials were working to resolve issues so students are not disadvantaged, but he declined to disclose how much of the debt has been paid.
Around 30 Ghanaian PhD students report tuition fees unpaid since 2024, preventing them from graduating, submitting work, or accessing university facilities. Others have missed support payments for more than three years, and letters of support for scholarship holders already in the UK have not been renewed.
Bansah criticised the government for continuing to award foreign scholarships despite ongoing problems with payments to the UK. Earlier this year, more than 180 Ghanaian students at the University of Memphis in the US complained about missing payments. Similar crises have affected students from other countries, including Nigerian students in the UK in 2020 and South African students in Russia more recently.
