The President of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS), Rashid Ibrahim, has demanded a categorical statement guaranteeing student representation on the Scholarship Authority Board, describing their exclusion as unacceptable.
Speaking on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen show, Mr. Ibrahim said the current composition of the Board amounts to a betrayal of trust. He stressed that NUGS, as the umbrella body for all student groups in Ghana, cannot be sidelined in a scholarship scheme meant for students.
According to him, assurances were previously given by the Parliamentary Select Committee on Education and the Ministry of Education that the Scholarship Authority Bill would be amended to include student representation. However, the Board has now been inaugurated without NUGS.
“NUGS is the leading student organization in Ghana, and it is unacceptable that there is a scholarship authority for students without our representation on the board. This situation needs to change, as we require a representative. The Parliamentary Select Committee on Education and the Ministry acknowledged our concerns and agreed to amend the bill to include us,” he said.
He added: “Despite the bill being passed and the board being established, NUGS was not included in the list of representatives. This is in stark contrast to the assurances we were given and feels like a betrayal of trust.”
Mr. Ibrahim also rejected attempts to classify NUGS under civil society organisations, insisting that the union solely represents students—the direct beneficiaries of scholarships.
“The Ministry cannot categorize us as part of civil society organizations because our focus is solely on students. The scholarship board’s mandate is to deliver scholarships to students, which is our domain. NUGS has never agreed to being subsumed under civil society organizations,” he said.
He warned that if the concerns of NUGS are not addressed, the union will escalate the matter by petitioning President John Dramani Mahama.
“There should be a clear statement regarding the representation of students on the board. If our grievances are not addressed, we will escalate the issue and petition the President on this matter,” he added.
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