Over 120,000 first-year students have received refunds under No-Fees-Stress policy – Felix Kwakye Ofosu

More than 120,000 first-year tertiary students have been reimbursed under the government’s “No-Fees-Stress” policy, which closed applications on August 7, 2025, the Minister of State in charge of Government Communications, Mr Felix Kwakye Ofosu has said.

He said in the final update that 207,087 applications were received. Out of this number, 178,745 students were confirmed by public tertiary institutions as officially enrolled. A total of 142,089 applications were validated, and 120,222 students were reimbursed.

The No-Fees-Stress initiative was launched by President John Dramani Mahama in July 2025. It waives tuition and other academic-related fees for all first-year students in public universities, technical universities, nursing training institutions, and colleges of education. The scheme is managed by the Student Loan Trust Fund (SLTF) under the Ministry of Education.

At the launch in July, officials reported that about 15,000 students had already benefited. By the end of that month, reimbursements had risen to 97,421 students, and at the close of the final deadline on August 7, the number had increased to 120,222.

The SLTF had extended the application period twice before announcing a final cut-off date, warning that no further extensions would be given.

The government earmarked nearly GH¢500 million in the 2025 budget to fund the policy. The annual cost is expected to exceed GH¢350 million to support about 125,000 students.

According to government, the scheme is aimed at easing the financial burden of tertiary education by allowing first-year students to register without difficulty. Support for continuing students is being addressed through expanded student loan options.