Ghana Card verification errors are causing delays in student fee reimbursements under the "No-Fees-Stress" policy. The Students Loan Trust Fund (SLTF) stated that incorrect Ghana Card numbers submitted by some students are the main reason for this hold-up. These errors prevent the SLTF from safely processing refunds for eligible students.
John Abbew Nkrumah, Director of Disbursement at SLTF, explained that discrepancies were found during verification. Level 100 students apparently submitted wrong Ghana Card details when enrolling at their schools. In other cases, educational institutions did not correctly check the submitted information. This led to inconsistencies that confused the system.
The "No-Fees-Stress" policy aims to ease financial pressure on students in public tertiary schools. It refunds approved academic fees through an online system. This policy is part of broader government efforts to support education. However, about 58,528 students in public and technical universities have already received their reimbursements for the 2025/2026 academic year.
Mr. Nkrumah urged students facing delays to check their details on the SLTF online portal. They should confirm if their information has been recorded correctly. He also advised students receiving notifications about unuploaded details to contact their schools. These institutions must correct any errors. The SLTF assures that refunds will be processed once Ghana Card information issues are sorted out.
Students who applied for the "No-Fees-Stress" policy and have not yet received their refunds are particularly affected. Many first-year students have raised concerns about this. They successfully applied but are still awaiting their reimbursements for academic fees paid at the start of the year. These students rely on these refunds to manage their finances.
The SLTF is working to resolve these issues. The system aims for efficient disbursement of educational support. Reliable verification is key to ensuring public funds reach the right recipients. This incident highlights the importance of accurate data entry and cross-checking in government programs. Any delay in these processes can create significant hardship for beneficiaries.
The SLTF has been steadily disbursing funds. For the 2024/2025 academic year, over 60,000 freshmen received fee reimbursements. The fund also disbursed over GHS 67 million in teacher trainee allowances to more than 30,000 students. These figures show a commitment to supporting students, despite current challenges.