Ghanaian students studying at the University of Memphis under a government scholarship program are facing possible eviction and academic suspension following delays in tuition payments by the Ghanaian government.
In an interview on Citi FM’s Eyewitness News on Thursday, Fred Awuku Budu Opoku-Asamoah, the acting leader of the student cohort, said the university has issued a notice directing the students to vacate their dormitories by August 9, 2025, due to unpaid fees. Their Fall 2025 course registrations have also been revoked.
“The current state of affairs for the 181 Ghanaian students here is nothing to write home about,” Opoku-Asamoah said, adding that the students now face the dual threat of academic derailment and homelessness.
A circular from the University of Memphis dated July 14 informed the affected students of the eviction order, citing non-payment of tuition and housing fees as grounds for the disciplinary action.
The students, who are beneficiaries of Ghana's foreign scholarship program, have issued a public appeal to President John Dramani Mahama and vice President Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, urging their intervention to prevent what they described as an academic and humanitarian crisis.
“We are making a passionate appeal to His Excellency John Dramani Mahama and Her Excellency Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang to intervene to salvage the situation,” Opoku-Asamoah said. “As it stands, we are stranded and don’t know where to go if we are evicted come August 9.”
It remains unclear why the scholarship disbursements have been delayed or whether Ghana’s Ministry of Education or Scholarship Secretariat has taken steps to resolve the issue. The Office of the President and the Ministry have not issued a formal statement as of Friday.
The situation underscores ongoing concerns about financial transparency and administrative capacity within Ghana’s scholarship administration, which has faced scrutiny in recent months amid parliamentary debates on the Ghana Scholarship Authority Bill.
For the affected students, however, the matter is less about policy and more about survival. “We came here with the belief that the government would honor its commitment,” said one student, who asked to remain anonymous. “Now we’re being told to leave, with nowhere to go and no clear path forward.”
