No Fees Stress: 'Reimbursement does not address barriers facing poor students' — Adutwum

Former Education Minister Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum has raised concerns about the reimbursement model being used under the government's No Fees Stress policy, arguing that it does not adequately support students who cannot afford upfront admission fees.

The policy, introduced by the government in July 2025, was designed to cover admission, registration and other academic-related fees for first-year Ghanaian students admitted to public tertiary institutions.

However, its current implementation requires students to first make payments before receiving reimbursements, a situation Dr Adutwum believes defeats the purpose of making tertiary education accessible to the most vulnerable.

"One of the major challenges coming from our constituents is the fact that they can't even pay to enter to go and enrol. A number of people who need this the most are the ones who don't attempt at all because they can't pay the enrolment fee to enter for you to capture them," Dr Adutwum said.

He made the comments when the Chief Executive Officer of the Students Loan Trust Fund, Dr. Saadija Shiraz, appeared before Parliament's Education Committee on Wednesday, July 8.

The former minister said the government must adopt a system where universities receive payments directly to enable students from poor backgrounds to gain admission without struggling to raise initial fees.

He explained that a direct payment arrangement would ensure that students confirm their admission and begin their studies without the financial burden of paying upfront costs.

"I don't believe in the reimbursement. I really want the universities [to have] an arrangement with them to pay them directly, because the reimbursement, even though it's politics, the parents are not happy with this policy because the money doesn't go back to them," he stated.