The government will officially launch its No Fees Stress policy on Thursday, July 4, 2025, as part of efforts to make higher education more accessible and affordable for first-year students in public tertiary institutions.
The announcement was made by Vice-President Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang on Saturday, June 28, 2025, during the 58th Special Congregation of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi.
The policy, a key campaign promise by President John Dramani Mahama during the 2024 elections, provides academic user fee waivers for all first-year students enrolled in public tertiary institutions across the country.
“The No Fees Stress Policy, aimed at easing financial burdens for first-year public tertiary students, has already recorded nearly 130,000 applicants and is set to be officially launched on July 4th,” she revealed.
She also highlighted ongoing government efforts to strengthen the country’s higher education sector, including the operationalisation of the National Research Fund Act, first introduced by the Mahama administration in 2016.
“Government is equally committed to the National Research Fund Act, which we first promoted in 2016,” she noted, pointing to ongoing investments in innovation and research excellence.
“H.E. Mahama also remains committed to upholding academic freedom and institutional autonomy, while ensuring regulatory compliance through the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission.”
Meanwhile, the Students Loan Trust Fund (SLTF) has validated over 22,000 applicants under the No Fees Stress policy.
The government last month launched a dedicated digital platform, known as the No-Fee-Stress Portal, to streamline the application process for the policy.
The portal provides comprehensive information on eligibility, institutional coverage, and beneficiaries.
The policy covers all Ghanaian first-year students in public tertiary institutions, allowing them to access government support for the payment of admission and facility user fees.
According to SLTF Chief Executive Officer, Hajia Saajida Shiraz, over 120,000 students have accessed the portal so far, with nearly 99,000 completing the application process.
The initiative forms part of the Mahama administration’s broader commitment to ensuring that financial constraints do not prevent qualified students from accessing higher education.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/Hamdia Mohammed
