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The Ghana National Union of Technical Students (GNUTS) has rejected the current composition of the Scholarship Authority Board, citing the absence of student representation as unacceptable and inconsistent with inclusive governance practices.
In a press statement issued in Accra, GNUTS expressed grave concern that students were excluded from a board responsible for formulating and implementing scholarship policies. The union argued that students are not peripheral stakeholders but the central beneficiaries of scholarships, making their exclusion both counterproductive and undemocratic.
GNUTS noted that scholarships play a critical role in promoting access to education, skills development and national human capital formation, especially for students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. For technical and TVET students, the union said scholarships are essential for covering costs related to tools, equipment, workshops, industrial training and certification.
The union warned that decisions taken by the Scholarship Authority Board including eligibility criteria, award quotas, sector prioritisation, disbursement timelines and monitoring mechanisms have a direct impact on the academic progression, welfare and future employability of technical students across the country.
GNUTS further argued that good public governance thrives on stakeholder participation, responsiveness and accountability. It stated that a scholarship board operating without student representation risks becoming disconnected from the lived realities of beneficiaries, particularly those in the TVET sector whose educational needs differ from traditional university students.
Highlighting longstanding challenges, GNUTS raised concerns about inequitable scholarship allocation, delays and irregular disbursement, and limited channels for feedback and grievance redress. The union said the absence of student voices weakens transparency and erodes public trust in scholarship administration.
The union also described the exclusion of students as a departure from established democratic conventions, noting that student representation on education-related boards has long been recognised as best practice to enhance policy relevance and institutional credibility.
GNUTS is therefore demanding the immediate inclusion of a student representative on the Scholarship Authority Board, with deliberate consideration for technical and TVET students. It also called on the Government of Ghana, the Ministry of Education and the Scholarship Authority to uphold principles of inclusivity, fairness and participatory governance.
The union reaffirmed its readiness to engage constructively with all relevant stakeholders to ensure that scholarship governance aligns with Ghana’s national TVET, skills development and youth employment agenda, stressing that policies about students should not be made without students.
Yaw Boagyan
Rafiq Adam
