Ghanaian Students in UK Face Deportation Over Funding Issues
Ghanaian doctoral students studying in the United Kingdom are facing potential deportation as the government struggles to settle a multi-million pound backlog in tuition fees and living allowances. Over 100 students are affected, and a petition has been sent to Downing Street and Labour leader Keir Starmer seeking intervention.
Prince Komla Bansah, president of the affected students’ group, revealed that some colleagues have already been deported by the Home Office after their universities cancelled their registrations due to non-payment. Others are battling eviction from accommodation and are increasingly reliant on loans from family and friends.
“For most of these students, I don’t know how they survive,” Bansah stated. “Some of them may be working part-time but it’s very hard to do that while studying for a PhD. From what I can gather, a lot of them are in debt and getting loans from back home.”
The petition highlights the severe hardship faced by the students, with some now facing court cases related to unpaid rent and relying on food banks to meet basic needs. Affected institutions include University College London, Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, and universities in Nottingham, Bradford, Warwick, Lincoln and Liverpool.
According to Alex Kwaku Asafo-Agyei, registrar of the Ghana scholarship secretariat in Accra, the current administration inherited a debt of approximately £32 million owed to about 110 UK institutions when it took office in January. He confirmed that an audit of existing scholarships is underway, and new scholarships to the UK have been temporarily suspended.
Asafo-Agyei added that he undertook a fact-finding mission to the UK in April and negotiated instalment plans with some universities. However, he indicated that certain institutions had subsequently withdrawn from these agreements.
“Ghana has made significant payments to our partner institutions in the UK and we have agreed to amicably resolve these issues so that our students are not at a loss,” Asafo-Agyei said, but he declined to disclose the specific amount paid to date, stating he lacked the authority to do so.
Approximately 30 PhD candidates have reported that their tuition fees remain unpaid since 2024, hindering their ability to graduate, submit their research, or access university resources. Others have not received their stipulated living allowances for over three years.
Bansah emphasized the urgency, stating, “We all agree that the new government only came into power in January but the reality is that the government was already aware of the situation and it still hasn’t made the payments.” He questioned the logic of continuing to award new scholarships while existing obligations remain unmet: “Why are they still awarding scholarships when they know there is a major problem with the UK?”
This issue is not unique to Ghanaian students. Earlier this year, over 180 Ghanaian students at the University of Memphis in the US also voiced concerns about missing scholarship payments. Similar incidents have been reported involving students from Nigeria and South Africa in recent years.
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