The Scholarship Secretariat has finally paid arrears of students in Cuba which had accumulated over a number of years.

The payment includes maintenance and book allowance.

President of the National Union of Ghana Students in Cuba on Government of Ghana scholarship Nyarko Quansah, applauded the Scholarship Secretariat for the swift action taken in paying the arrears of students undertaking studies in various fields outside the country.

The commendation was contained in a letter addressed to the Registrar of the Scholarship Secretariat, Kingsley Agyemang.

Over the years, Ghanaian students on scholarships in Cuba have expressed their displeasure over delays in releasing allowances meant for their upkeep and studies.

Previous governments have reneged on their responsibility to pay the allowances on time, leaving the students stranded and hungry most of the time.

However, the Secretariat, under Mr Agyemang, has honoured its responsibility by paying accumulated arrears, including both maintenance and book allowance of the previous year for these students.

Mr Quansah stated in a release that, though the issue of delay in stipends had been a recurring challenge that students have harshly been faced for a couple of years now, including the unbearable economic hardships that it brought to the students, however, “we cannot overlook the fact that, in recent times, there has been a massive response from your office in solving catastrophic event of delay in payment of students. This has led to the payment of all accumulated arrears, both maintenance and book allowance of the previous year.”

Describing the move by the Secretariat as a step in the right direction, Mr Quansah expressed the hope that, if it should continue this way, “the issues of delay in stipends and the challenges it comes with would be brought to an end.”

“We wish to show our appreciation on the effort your office has and is putting in on this matter. To that, we say kudos. We are hoping this trend continues and leads to the prompt payment of the outstanding arrears for this year which totals four monthly maintenance allowance and one-year book allowance,” the NUGS-Cuba President said in the release.

Mr. Agyemang in an interview with the Daily Statesman said the Akufo-Addo administration is committed to education.

“This government has, indeed, proved that it is committed to educating the youth, who are the bedrock of the nation. As I speak to you now, four months arrears, that is from January to March, which was outstanding, has been paid, leaving just April as outstanding,” he said.

He added that this is the first time in ten years that government has done this.

Mr Agyemang again disclosed that government has released $4.7 million for tuition, accommodation and meals for the medical students in Cuba for the 2016/17 academic year.