Accra: The Government of Ghana has announced the allocation of GHc 900,353,000 to support a total of 317,841 students, including law students, under the "No-Fees-Stress" Policy. This initiative was revealed by Mr. Haruna Iddrisu, the Minister of Education, during the Government Accountability Series held at the Presidency in Accra. The initiative aims to demystify legal education and is part of the government's broader social intervention policies.
According to Ghana News Agency, the government has enhanced its student loan scheme, increasing the financial aid provided to students in colleges from GHc 1,500 to GHc 3,000, and from GHc 2,250 to GHc 4,500. Dr. Saajida Shiraz, the Chief Executive Officer of the Students Loan Trust Fund (SLTF), stated that over 52,000 first-year tertiary students have already benefited from the "No Academic Fees" initiative for the 2025/2026 academic year. This policy is designed to alleviate the financial burden on students entering public institutions and to ensure that no qualified Ghanaian student is denied access to tertiary education due to financial constraints.
Dr. Shiraz further elaborated that the Fund received 184,489 first-year admission records from 163 public tertiary institutions for the 2025/2026 academic year. Of these, 161,170 students have successfully completed their validation processes and are currently being prepared for payment. The SLTF has introduced a direct-to-institution disbursement model for students in Colleges of Education, Colleges of Agriculture, and Health Training Institutions under a hybrid implementation arrangement.
Under this system, academic fees for 41,007 students have already been paid directly to 137 institutions. Additionally, fees for another 11,000 first-year students in public universities and technical universities have been fully settled. To enhance transparency and accountability, the SLTF has launched a "No-Fees-Stress" status checker on its website, enabling students to track their validation and reimbursement status.
In further support of this policy, the government has allocated GHc 537 million in the 2026 Budget, with an additional GHc 25 million earmarked for free tertiary education for persons living with disabilities.