I write to debunk the sustained campaign of disinformation being peddled regarding the implementation of the No-Fees-Stress Policy.
For clarity, the No-Fees-Stress Policy comprises a suite of complementary, equity-focused interventions designed to ease the cost of tertiary education for students and their families, namely:
- The No-Academic-Fees Policy;
- The Free Tertiary Education for Persons with Disabilities initiative;
- Students Loan Plus; and
- The Traditional Student Loan.
1. The No-Academic-Fees Policy
The No-Academic-Fees Policy was designed to cover the academic fees of first-year students admitted to public tertiary institutions. The Government of President John Dramani Mahama was sworn in on 7 January 2025, and the policy, as operationalised, was scheduled to take effect from September 2025. Alert to the financial realities confronting students admitted for the 2024/25 academic year, the Government — under no obligation to do so — took the empathetic decision for SLTF to refund the academic fees of all enrolled first-year students in public institutions for that cohort. In all, 152,698 first-year students were validated and reimbursed for the 2024/25 academic year.
Subsequently, the Ministry of Education convened a series of stakeholder engagements to determine the modalities for implementing the No-Academic-Fees Policy in the 2025/26 academic year, following which Government was advised by stakeholders to adopt an incremental approach to the policy as conceptualised. Accordingly, for the 2025/26 academic year, SLTF piloted the direct-to-institution disbursement model, exactly as promised, to test its feasibility. Of the 168,982 beneficiaries paid so far in the 2025/26 academic year, 45,127 first-year students enrolled in public Colleges of Education, Colleges of Agriculture, and Health Training Institutions have had their support paid directly to their institutions.
2. Free Tertiary Education for Persons with Disabilities
Under this initiative, 1,623 students with disabilities have received full tuition and residential support paid directly to their institutions in the 2025/26 academic year, with stipends and assistive learning devices to follow. In addition, persons with disabilities already on SLTF’s loan portfolio are presently receiving executive consideration for loan forgiveness.
3. Students Loan Plus
On the express directive of President John Dramani Mahama, Students Loan Plus was introduced as an enhancement to our traditional loan package — full-fee-coverage loans disbursed directly to institutions, with eligibility extended to students of the Ghana School of Law. To date, 1,997 students have benefited, including 626 from the Ghana School of Law, with GH₵20,762,175.19 disbursed. The SLTF Board is now exploring the coverage of graduate programmes — including the Graduate Entry Medical Programme — under Students Loan Plus for the 2026/27 academic year.
4. The Traditional Student Loan
For the traditional student loan, loan amounts have been increased by 50% — from a range of GH₵1,500–3,000 to GH₵2,250–4,500. The interest rate has been reduced from 12% compounding to 6% simple interest, applied during period of study and moratorium. The repayment-period interest rate — previously as high as 14% compounding — now stands at approximately 7.3% (the Treasury bill rate plus 2%), a direct dividend of prudent economic management. For the 2025/26 academic year, 59,307 students have received enhanced loans, to the tune of GH₵210,610,800.00.
Across its four components, the No-Fees-Stress Policy has, since its launch, touched the lives of hundreds of thousands of Ghanaian students. The No-Academic-Fees policy alone has returned close to a billion cedis to families who would otherwise have been priced out of tertiary education.
The 321,680 beneficiaries so far under the initiative are not statistics to be argued away; they are the verdict. The 1,623 students with disabilities now studying with their tuition and residence fully paid are not a footnote to be waved aside; they are testament. The 61,304 students who have accessed enhanced and full-coverage loans are not abstractions to be spun; they are the evidence.
SLTF will continue to implement this policy faithfully, transparently, and in the interest of every Ghanaian student it was designed to serve. The facts are on the record. Let them stand.
Signed
Chief Executive Office
Dr. Saajida Shiraz
