President John Dramani Mahama has declared that financial constraints will no longer prevent Ghanaian children from accessing tertiary education, following the official launch of the government’s new No Fees Stress policy.
Speaking at the launch event in Koforidua on Friday, the President announced that, beginning this academic year, the State will fully absorb academic-related fees for all first-year students admitted into public universities, technical universities, colleges of education, and nursing training institutions across the country.
“Let it be known across this land that, from today, no Ghanaian child will be denied tertiary education simply because they cannot afford the academic fees,” President Mahama stated.
The initiative, he said, was born out of the urgent need to address a hidden crisis in the education sector where thousands of qualified students are unable to take up their admissions due to their inability to pay fees. He described the No Fees Stress policy as a “bold, equity-driven intervention” designed to remove financial barriers and guarantee inclusive access to higher education.
“This policy is more than a budgetary item. It is a moral, constitutional, and developmental imperative,” the President said.
He cited data showing that in the 2022/2023 academic year alone, over 150,000 students were admitted to public tertiary institutions, yet thousands had to forgo their spots because of upfront fees.
President Mahama described such setbacks as “a national emergency,” stressing that “behind every unpaid fee is a name, a face, a dream deferred.”
The No Fees Stress policy also includes a restructured Student Loan Plus initiative for continuing students, increased loan amounts, free tertiary education for persons with disabilities, and targeted scholarships for underrepresented communities and priority disciplines.
READ: Tertiary education key to Ghana’s economic transformation – Mahama
The President made it clear that the programme is not meant to replace existing allowances or loans but to complement them by removing the cost of entry that continues to lock many bright students out of Ghana’s higher education system.
“We are building a Ghana where opportunity is not inherited but created. A Ghana where education is not rationed by class or cash, but granted by merit and upheld by the collective will of the Republic,” he declared.
President Mahama also reaffirmed that the policy aligns with Article 38(3) of the 1992 Constitution, which mandates the State to provide equal access to university or equivalent education to all Ghanaians.
The launch event was attended by government officials, heads of tertiary institutions, student leaders, and development partners.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
