Former CEO of the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP), Kofi Ofosu Nkansah, has launched a stinging criticism of the current head of the Ghana Scholarship Secretariat, Kwaku Asafo-Agyei, accusing him of inexperience and poor negotiation skills that have harmed Ghana’s longstanding goodwill with international academic institutions.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, July 15, Mr Ofosu Nkansah decried the current state of affairs under the Mahama administration, noting that Ghanaian students on government scholarships abroad have been reduced to "beggars" due to unpaid tuition and related fees. 

Mr Ofosu Nkansah's comments come in the wake of complaints by students, particularly those at the University of Memphis, who say they risk expulsion if they do not personally settle outstanding fees.

"Unfortunately, the new scholarship boss is an inexperienced person who has messed up our goodwill with the schools abroad with his poor negotiation skills," Mr Ofosu Nkansah wrote. 

He further called on the Finance Minister to act swiftly, stating, “The Finance Minister must do the needful by paying these debts. The Akufo-Addo Government settled all the scholarship debts we inherited in 2017.”

The post has sparked fresh debate about the state of Ghana’s foreign scholarship programme, as well as the government’s ability to honour financial commitments to its students studying overseas. 

Many students have voiced fears over the potential cancellation of their courses, with some reporting pressure to pay their fees out-of-pocket despite assurances from the Scholarship Secretariat