Minister for Education, Hon. Haruna Iddrisu, has disclosed that he has issued policy directives barring GETFund from administering scholarships directly, instead requiring the Fund to channel its scholarship allocations through the Ghana Scholarship Authority as part of a broader push to streamline how educational scholarships are awarded nationwide.
Speaking on the reform, Hon. Iddrisu explained that while GETFund retains a mandate to support scholarships, the responsibility for determining who receives them should no longer rest with the Fund acting independently, but should instead flow through the Scholarship Authority, the institution specifically established to manage such awards.
Hon. Iddrisu was direct about the reasoning behind the directive, explaining that consolidating scholarship administration under a single dedicated authority was central to the very purpose for which that authority was created.
He illustrated how the new arrangement would function in practice, describing a scenario in which GETFund’s scholarship allocation would be transferred to the Scholarship Authority’s board for disbursement, rather than GETFund independently selecting beneficiaries on its own.
“For instance, if GETFund has an allocation to award scholarships, let the GETFund board work with the Scholarship Authority board, and then we can deal with merit. It shouldn’t be an individual making that determination, not even a minister.”
Hon. Haruna Iddrisu,
Central to the Minister’s justification for the policy shift was a concern over how scholarship decisions have historically been made, with an emphasis on removing individual discretion from the process altogether. He argued that scholarship opportunities should be determined through open, merit-based competition rather than decisions made by any single official, regardless of their position within government.
This framing suggests the Minister views the restructuring not merely as an administrative streamlining exercise, but as a deliberate effort to close off avenues for individualised or potentially arbitrary scholarship allocation, in favour of a more transparent, institutionally governed process.
Scholarship Authority Burdened by Debt
Despite outlining this reform, Hon. Iddrisu acknowledged a significant financial obstacle facing the very institution now expected to take on a more central role in scholarship administration. He disclosed that the Ghana Scholarship Authority currently carries a substantial outstanding debt, a burden he said he has been actively raising with the President in an effort to secure a resolution.
He indicated that discussions were underway involving the President and the Minister for Finance, aimed at addressing the Authority’s financial obligations, framing the matter as one of particular urgency given its potential impact on young scholarship beneficiaries relying on the institution’s support.
Implications for GETFund’s Future Role
The directive effectively narrows GETFund’s independent authority over scholarship disbursement, repositioning the Fund as a financial contributor working in coordination with the Scholarship Authority rather than as an independent decision-making body in its own right. This shift suggests a broader effort to clarify institutional roles across Ghana’s education financing architecture, ensuring that funding bodies and awarding bodies operate within clearly defined, non-overlapping mandates.
While the policy directive itself appears settled, the disclosure of the Scholarship Authority’s outstanding debt introduces a complicating factor for how smoothly the new collaborative arrangement between GETFund and the Authority can function in practice.
Until the debt issue is resolved through the ongoing engagement between the Presidency and the Ministry of Finance, questions remain over the Authority’s capacity to effectively absorb and manage an expanded scholarship administration role.
With the directive now in place, attention turns to how quickly GETFund and the Ghana Scholarship Authority begin operating under this new collaborative framework, and whether the outstanding debt weighing on the Authority can be resolved in time to support a smooth transition.
For prospective scholarship applicants, the reform signals a shift toward a more centralised, merit-based system, though its ultimate success will likely depend on how effectively the financial and institutional challenges accompanying the change are addressed in the months ahead.
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