Student loans in Ghana

Abstract

Student loans were first introduced in Ghana in 1971, but the scheme was abandoned the following year, due to a change of government. A revised scheme was introduced in 1975, but faced problems of high rates of default. Attempts to improve recovery since 1986 have had some success, but in 1989 the Government of Ghana introduced a new student loan scheme, which is administered by the Social Security and National Insurance Trust. This article summarises the current pattern of finance of higher education, gives a brief history of student loans in Ghana and describes the new scheme, introduced in 1989.