The National Scholarship Authority Bill is expected to be passed by the end of this week, but education experts and civil society groups are voicing strong concerns that it may fall short of delivering real, lasting reform to Ghana’s scholarship system.
Peter Nortsu-Kotoe, Chair of Parliament’s Education Committee, announced on July 15 that the bill aims to enhance transparency and oversight in how scholarships are awarded across Ghana.
However, Kofi Asare, Executive Director of Africa Education Watch, argues the bill does little to tackle the core issues of nepotism, political interference, and lack of meritocracy.
Speaking in an interview on Thursday, July 17, 2025, Asare criticised the proposed governance structure as a mere reshuffling of executive power.
“This bill simply shifts control from one group of government officials to another,” he said.
“With ministers from Education, Foreign Affairs, and the Attorney General’s office on the board, it remains tightly within the executive’s grip. Who really benefits from that?”
Asare warned that the bill, in its current form, risks entrenching the same systemic flaws it claims to fix.
“You can’t expect different results by repeating the same approach, true reform means separating regulatory and awarding functions. The authority should set standards not hand out scholarships,” he added.
He advocated for a model where educational institutions or independent bodies recommend scholarship candidates, while the authority ensures compliance with clear, merit-based criteria.
“Allowing the executive to control both regulation and distribution invites the same abuses we’ve seen for years. This bill, as it stands, is not the solution, it’s part of the problem,” he said.