The University of Memphis in the United States has ended its scholarship partnership with Ghana over outstanding tuition payments approaching $4 million.
According to reports, the University of Memphis’ move now puts nearly 100 Ghanaian students at the University facing uncertainty over their education.
Reports suggest affected students, who benefited from the Ghana Scholarships Secretariat programme, have been barred from enrolling for the new academic term.
The students will now have to secure alternative funding to settle their tuition obligations.
The development comes as the University of Memphis prepares to begin its fall semester.
According to the university, Ghana still owes nearly $4 million in tuition fees under the scholarship arrangement, revealing that the debt had previously stood at $3.6 million in July 2025, with Ghana making two $1 million payments in August that year before the outstanding balance later increased again.
Bill Hardgrave, the University of Memphis president, had previously linked the payment difficulties to Ghana’s change in government and the resulting impact on the country’s budget.
However, despite expectations that the situation would be resolved, the outstanding obligations have remained unsettled.
The Ghanaians student at the University could also face immigration complications if they are unable to maintain the full-time enrolment required under their international student status.
Meanwhile, reports suggest the scholarship arrangement was established in 2023 following an initiative involving the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, who advocated for opportunities for Ghanaian students after he visited the Memphis in May International Festival.
In related scholarship secretariat news, Sarbah Zita Benson, Ghana’s High Commissioner to the UK/Ireland, has once again exposed the alleged irregularities uncovered in scholarship arrangements for Ghanaian students studying in the UK.
According to Sabah Zita Benson, she cringed reading the rot that happened under the former Registrar of the scholarship secretariat, Dr Kingsley Agyemang.
She disclosed that the Ghana Scholarship Secretariat were paying monthly stipends for whole families, including spouses and children, because one person was coming to study for an MBA.
Sabah Zita Benson provided documents containing the allegations disclosing that the children and spouses of scholarship beneficiaries also received medical coverage and other benefits allegedly worth about £90,000.
She also stressed that each of the children of the scholarship recipients received about £8,160 as financial support while accompanying their parents.
Sarbah Zita Benson detailed documents from the prior NPP administration showing such family-inclusive awards as part of broader mismanagement that led to over £37 million in student payment arrears.
Speaking in an interview, Sabah Zita Benson stated, “These are documents from the Ghana Scholarship Secretariat, and if you see the rot, you will be amazed. All these are scholarship documents that I received from the Ghana Scholarship [Secretariat].
I cringed reading these documents. The rot that happened under the former Registrar. This particular one is one woman. I don’t want to mention names. I’ll say Princess. She gets a scholarship and goes with her three children”.
She added, “The children are paid to come and stay with their mother to study, and her spouse, her husband. And so, this one, for instance, has three children. She is enrolled in a master’s degree programme.
“She gets paid for the master’s programme with stipends. Her husband gets paid to come and support his wife in studying. Together with their three children, that’s another child, a baby, also a scholarship student”.
Sarbah Zita Benson further added, “I’ll tell you, they pay for their airfare. So for the four, their visas, yellow card, yellow fever card, ticket, comes to about £90,000. And every month, the three children, their husband, everybody – not all of them – each gets £8,160 to support the mother to study. Do you think that is fair to the taxpayer of Ghana?
She further called on the National Investigation Bureau (NIB) to move fast to investigate the allegations and ensure that individuals found culpable refund every penny.
@ghnow_ Chairman of the Tanker Drivers Association raises concerns over the slow pace of work on the Tema–VALCO Road to TOR, alleging that the contractor works for only one hour each day. #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ “Should we wait for a tanker accident before this road is prioritised?” — Tanker Drivers Association Chairman #GHnow #FixValcoKponeRoad ♬ original sound – GHnow
