The Students' Loan Trust Fund (SLTF) has developed a policy implementation strategy to ensure a smooth execution of the Free Tertiary Education for Persons with Disabilities initiative.
The strategy has been designed for all public tertiary institutions with inputs from various stakeholders.
The new policy, scheduled to take off from the 2025/2026 academic year, is a ground-breaking affirmative action initiative by the government to promote inclusivity in higher education through a comprehensive fee support for tertiary students with disabilities in public tertiary institutions.
No Fees Stress component
It is a component of President John Dramani Mahama’s flagship No Fees Stress Policy --- a transformative initiative designed to alleviate the financial burden of tertiary education on students and their families through targeted financial support.
The document made available to the Daily Graphic indicated objectives, eligibility, operationalisation of disability, policy package for eligible persons with disabilities, as well as the implementation guidelines.
It said the initiative aimed to mitigate financial barriers to accessing tertiary education for persons with disabilities (PWDs), promote inclusivity in higher education and empower them to contribute to national development.
Eligibility
To qualify for the policy, the student must be a Ghanaian living with a disability, admitted or enrolled in an accredited tertiary institution, either public or private, for an undergraduate programme (degree, Higher National Diploma, Diploma) and pursuing a regular, weekend or distance programme in Ghana.
For the policy, it said the operationalisation of disability, according to the Persons with Disability Amendment Bill, 2020, Section 62 (3), was adopted.
It defines disabilities to include the following physical disability: deafness, non-verbal conditions, communication disabilities (speech and language), hard of hearing, visual disability, multiple disabilities (e.g., deafblind), psychosocial disabilities, cerebral palsy, bipolar conditions, attention deficit disorders and schizophrenia.
The rest are developmental and neurological disabilities, autism, Down syndrome, spinal injury, autoimmune conditions, osteogenesis imperfecta, albinism, intellectual disability, epilepsy, leprosy, and little people.
The package for eligible persons with disabilities covers full academic fees, residential fees in public tertiary accommodation facilities, stipends (subject to fund availability), and digital learning tools (subject to fund availability).
“This implementation plan outlines key steps for the successful rollout of the Free Tertiary Education for Persons with Disabilities initiative.
“Public tertiary institutions are advised to follow these phased guidelines, adapting as guided for effective implementation,” it said.
It named the guidelines as pre-admission and verification, established and operationalised disability offices to provide guidance and support for PWDs, mandated disclosure of disabilities and inclusion of medical reports in applications and conducted disability verification process for PWDs during pre-admission, involving a medical professional.
Percentage
Institutions are also to assign a degree of disability in percentage terms, state exemption from fee payments on admission letters for validated PWDs under the Free Tertiary Education for Persons with Disabilities initiative and for students already admitted, institutions are to organise a verification and validation process accordingly.
Public tertiary institutions are to share validated disability information with the Students' Loan Trust Fund (SLTF) via the SLTF tertiary institution’s portal.
Regarding data confirmation and payment processing, the “SLTF submits received disability list to institutions for confirmation” and “public tertiary institutions submit confirmation and consolidated bill for validated students with disabilities.”
The SLTF therefore processes payment directly to tertiary institutions, with notice of payment sent to institutions and students.
