No Fee Stress” Policy Launched to Ease Admission Burden for Needy Students – Eduwatch Welcomes Milestone

No Fee Stress” Policy Launched to Ease Admission Burden for Needy Students – Eduwatch Welcomes Milestone

In a major boost for access to tertiary education, the government has launched the “No Fee Stress” policy, waiving academic fees at the point of admission for all first-year students in public tertiary institutions who apply under the initiative. The policy, announced by the President during a ceremony at the SDA College of Education in Asokore, Koforidua, is being lauded by education think tank, Africa Education Watch (Eduwatch), as a breakthrough for Ghana’s financially challenged students.

Executive Director of Eduwatch, Kofi Asare, who has long championed this policy shift, described it as the fulfillment of a decade-long advocacy effort.

"Since 2012, I have supported over 20 needy students to pay their first-year academic fees just to secure admission. This is often the point of greatest need, where students risk losing admission offers if fees aren’t paid within two weeks. Today, that burden is lifted," Asare stated in a release shared with The Ghana Voice.

The No Fee Stress policy now enables students from low-income backgrounds to enroll without upfront payment of academic fees—a longstanding barrier that has historically kept thousands of qualified candidates out of the classroom.

Kofi Asare also commended the government for implementing another Eduwatch-backed reform—indexing the student loan against annual inflation to maintain its real value. He welcomed what he described as the “unprecedented” allocation of GHC 70 million from the GETFund to the Student Loan Trust Fund, and the government’s commitment to increase it to GHC 150 million in 2026.

“This accounts for this year’s expedited release of student loans and represents a significant step toward sustainable and inclusive tertiary education financing,” Asare noted.

Eduwatch has assured continued engagement with the Ministry of Education to ensure the efficiency and long-term viability of the No Fee Stress programme. The group is advocating for improvements in loan targeting, faster disbursement timelines, and the development of a strong legal and programmatic framework to support the policy.

The announcement comes as a welcome relief for many Ghanaian families struggling with the financial demands of higher education and marks a transformative shift in education access policy in the country.