President John Dramani Mahama has today, Friday, July 4, 2025, launched the “No Fees Stress Policy” with the key objective of transforming higher education.
The official launch was held in Koforidua and forms part of efforts to eliminate financial barriers to tertiary education for all first-year students admitted to public institutions across the nation, starting this academic year.
President Mahama tagged the initiative as a “moral, constitutional, and developmental imperative”.
The government, through the initiative, will cover academic-related fees for all incoming students at public universities and colleges of education. and technical universities.
According to President John Dramani Mahama, the fulfilment of this campaign promise will address the challenge where thousands of qualified students were forced to abandon their educational aspirations due to financial constraints.
“Far too many of our young people have worked hard, passed their exams, and earned a place in our tertiary institutions—only to be turned away because their families cannot afford the upfront fees,” the president said.
He also referenced statistics which disclosed that in the 2022/2023 academic year, thousands of the 150,000 admitted students could not enrol, and many more defer or drop out annually due to financial constraints.
According to him, the “No Fees Stress Policy” is multifaceted, encompassing:
* No-Academic-Fees Policy: The government will fully cover academic-related fees for all first-year students.
* Student Loan Plus Initiative: A revamped financing model offering enhanced and simplified support for continuing students.
* Free Tertiary Education for Persons with Disabilities: Ensuring full inclusion and compliance with national obligations.
* Increased Student Loan Amounts: Annually adjusted to reflect the true costs of tertiary education.
* Diversified Student Funding Mechanisms: Including targeted scholarships for under-represented communities and critical disciplines.
Additionally, students in fee-paying programmes without regular-track equivalents will receive a reimbursement of up to GHS 2,500 for academic fees.
“It is about restoring dignity to the Ghanaian student,” the representative asserted, highlighting that the policy aims to ensure that “geographical location, gender, disability, or socio-economic background will no longer determine who can sit in a university lecture hall.”
President Mahama called on stakeholders to support the initiative in making this a success.
An initial 15,000 students have already had their academic user fees cleared under the new policy.
“Let it be known across this land that, from today, no Ghanaian child will be denied tertiary education simply because they cannot afford the academic fees,” the president declared, marking the official launch.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
