Reassessing the “No-Fees Stress” Initiative: Insights from First-year University Students

Executive Summary

Tertiary education in Ghana plays a vital role in national development, yet access and equity remain pressing concerns, particularly for first-year students. A significant barrier is the high cost of academic user fees, which many students and their families struggle to afford.

Despite public universities being subsidised, students are still required to pay for tuition-related services, facility use, and administrative costs. For first-year students, especially those from low-income and rural backgrounds, these upfront costs often result in delayed enrollment, course deferrals, or complete withdrawal. Some students resort to high-interest loans or informal support, further exposing them to long-term financial strain.

This brief takes a closer look at the ‘No-Fees Stress’ Initiative, launched under the Mahama administration, through the eyes of students in selected universities. It reflects on how the policy has worked in practice and what can be improved going forward.

Introduction

On July 4, 2025, President Mahama officially launched the No‑Fees‑Stress initiative in Koforidua, Eastern Region. Through the Students Loan Trust Fund (SLTF), the government intends to use the No-Fees-Stress Initiative to ease the financial burden of tertiary education on newly admitted students in public tertiary institutions, including universities, colleges of education, technical universities, and nursing training institutions.  The initiative offers a non-repayable grant to cover admission and facility fees, with eligibility tied to Ghana Card possession and successful online verification. In the 2025 budget, the Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, indicated that the government had allocated GH¢499.8 million to fund this policy. The Education Minister-Haruna Iddrisu, has also indicated that the policy will require an expected cost of over GH¢350 million annually to support approximately 125,000 students. Over 15,000 students have reportedly been reimbursed as of July 2025.

As part of our ongoing assessment of this policy, CDS Africa convened a Focus Group Dialogue. Using purposive sampling, 10 first-year students were drawn from two tertiary institutions (the University of Ghana and the University of Professional Studies, Accra). This focus group discussion sought to achieve the following objectives:

1. To assess students’ awareness and understanding of the policy.
2. To examine the accessibility and ease of the application process.
3. To identify challenges and evaluate the impact of the policy on financial stress
4. To generate recommendations for improving implementation and equity

Methodology

A qualitative Focus Group Discussion (FGD) was conducted to explore the experiences and perspectives of students regarding the No-Fees Stress Initiative. The session involved 10 participants, made up of both applicants and beneficiaries, as well as one Teaching Assistant (TA) who offered additional academic context. Participants were selected using purposive sampling, targeting first-year students from two tertiary institutions: the University of Ghana (UG) and the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA). This approach ensured a diversity of views within the scope of the policy’s reach.

The FGD lasted approximately 120 minutes and was conducted in a quiet, neutral setting to encourage open discussion. With participants’ consent, the session was recorded and later transcribed for analysis. Data was analysed thematically, focusing on recurring patterns, concerns, and suggestions expressed by participants. Key themes were drawn to inform the policy recommendations presented in this brief.

This graph illustrates the perspectives shared on five key issues.

• Barriers to Registration: 20% of participants (2 out of 10) experienced significant registration challenges. One student’s registration is still pending due to the lack of a Ghana Card. Using a parent’s Ghana Card as an alternative was not feasible, as the parents were abroad. Another student, turning 18 later this month, repeated the process multiple times before discovering the third-party Ghana Card option. While the other students did not face issues with the Ghana Card requirement, they expressed frustration and dissatisfaction with the tedious process of opening accounts with GCB Bank.

• Poor Awareness Creation: All participants (100%) indicated that the awareness creation around the No-Fees Stress Initiative was poorly executed. While most students became aware of the policy through media reports, news portals, and the President’s 2024 manifesto launch, they noted that detailed information on how to access and complete the registration process was lacking until much later. Several participants emphasised the need for clear, consistent, and timely communication from government agencies to prevent confusion and misinformation.

• Limited Access and Uptake: The SRC Vice President of UG revealed that only a small fraction of Level 100 students had successfully applied for the initiative. Even fewer students had received qualification approval, and only a handful had been reimbursed to date.

• Disbursement Preferences: 90% of the participants indicated that they would have preferred being given the option to receive the funds either through their student academic accounts or via the GCB Bank accounts opened under the initiative. According to them, crediting their academic accounts at their respective universities would ensure that the funds are used directly to settle their academic fees. They expressed concern that depositing the money into the GCB accounts has, in many cases, led to misuse, with some students spending the funds without their parents’ knowledge.

• Timing Concerns: Participants questioned the delay in reimbursement, arguing that if the goal is to relieve financial stress at the point of admission, the funds should have been prepaid directly to the universities rather than reimbursed after students had already struggled to find alternative means to pay.

• Operational Concerns: Students felt that managing the initiative through the Students Loan Trust Fund (SLTF) was problematic, as the process resembled a loan application. “Verification processes are delayed because SLTF reaches out to universities after applications, instead of proactively partnering with schools to access first-year student databases”.

• Equity Issues: Participants also expressed concerns about equity, noting that students in higher-cost programs such as Medicine are exempted, unlike their counterparts studying “normal subject areas”. This, they argued, undermines the initiative’s core objective, which is to provide meaningful financial relief to all first-year students.

Policy Recommendations

Based on the insights from this student-led focus group, CDS Africa makes the following recommendations:

1. Improve Awareness and Communication

Implement targeted orientation programs on campuses and during admissions to educate students about the initiative.

Create clear guides on eligibility, registration, and disbursement procedures.

2. Direct Fund Disbursement to Universities

Reimburse universities directly on behalf of students rather than post-payment reimbursements, to eliminate the upfront financial burden.

3. Revise Ghana Card Requirements

Establish Ghana Card registration desks on campuses, especially during the admission season.

Allow provisional registration pending Ghana Card issuance.

4. Decentralize Management of the Initiative

Reassign the initiative from SLTF or establish a dedicated secretariat within the Ministry of Education for grants, separate from loans.

5. Partner with Universities for Verification

Allow universities to provide verified databases of newly admitted students beforehand to the implementing agency.

6. Consider Program-Based Support

Adjust disbursement amounts based on programme-specific cost structures to ensure that all first-year students receive the exact amount they paid, regardless of their course of study. This approach will better serve the intended purpose of the initiative.

7. Respect Student Union Feedback

Future decision-making must incorporate recommendations from student bodies such as NUGS and SRCs to ensure policies align with students’ realities.

Conclusion

While the No-Fees Stress Initiative is well-intentioned, current implementation strategies fall short in addressing the structural and logistical barriers faced by students. Without enhanced communication, proactive planning, and equitable execution, the policy risks excluding the very students it aims to support.