Ghana establishes special desks in 11 countries to support students abroad

The Foreign Ministry has established special Student Desks in 11 countries with large populations of Ghanaian students to provide critical support.

Announcing the initiative, sector minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said the desks will assist students with fee facilitation, immigration issues, medical emergencies, and other urgent needs.

The Student Desks have been set up in Abidjan, Beijing, Belgrade, Cotonou, Havana, Lomé, London, Moscow, Rabat, Rome, and Ottawa, with plans to expand to all Ghanaian diplomatic missions in the future.

Notably, the initiative will not impose additional costs on taxpayers, as it relies on the reassignment of existing consular staff.

Embassy officials overseeing the desks will submit monthly reports to the Consular and Humanitarian Affairs Bureau, which will then be forwarded to the Foreign Minister.

“The Mahama administration is determined to end the era where Ghanaian students studying abroad… are left stranded, neglected and frustrated when they need urgent assistance,” Ablakwa stated.

This initiative is part of a broader effort to introduce institutional reforms aimed at strengthening Ghana’s support systems for its citizens abroad.