Amend Scholarship Authority Act to Give Us Representation – NUGS

The National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) has called for an amendment to give it representation on the Scholarship Authority.

It argues that the Union is the legitimate and representative voice of Ghanaian students.

“Any departure from this well-established standard in the case of the Scholarship Authority raises legitimate concerns about respect for student representation.”

It rejected attempts by the Ministry of Education to categorise the Union as a Civil Society Organisation (CSO), noting that representation by implication or through an undefined “umbrella” structure is neither adequate nor acceptable when it comes to student interests.

“For a body as critical as the Scholarship Authority, whose core mandate directly affects students, student representation must be explicit, unambiguous, and guaranteed in law, preferably through a clear provision for a NUGS-nominated representative, as is the case under the GETFund Act.”

It therefore wants the Scholarship Authority Act amended under a certificate of urgency.

“This will eliminate all ambiguity, restore stakeholder confidence, and align the Authority’s governance framework with best practices already entrenched in Ghana’s education sector.

“It should not be in our history book that under the tenure of a former NUGS President as Minister of Education, the Scholarship Authority Act was passed without any provision on NUGS-appointed student representative.”
NUGS further affirmed its commitment to constructive engagement with the Ministry of Education, Parliament, and all relevant stakeholders, emphasising that its position is not adversarial but principled, anchored in law, precedent, and the collective interest of Ghanaian students.

Story by Hajara Fuseini

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