A FrontPage Africa investigation has discovered that Liberian students studying in Ghana at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) are currently being denied access to school facilities due to government of Liberia alleged failure to pay students fees on campus.
By Edwin G. Genoway, Jr (231886458910)[email protected]
The group of Liberian students doing their masters are currently going through a terrifically horrible situation in the Ghanaian capital Accra, as they have been denied major facilities on campus, FrontPage Africa was being hinted.
It is being reported that students working on their Masters’ program in Ghana at the expense of the Liberian government are being denied the school’s online portal, meaning, the students are not accessing their previous semester grades.
Sources also hinted this paper that the students are being denied entry to the school Library due to lack of ID-Cards, “Students ID Cards were seized and so they are not accessing facilities that could help them obtain knowledge,” a source told FPA.
It is reported that the ID-Cards of students were seized by school authority due to lack of tuition payment, which in summary terms denies them of participation into any students related activities on campus.
The Liberian government through Liberia Institute of Public Administration (LIPA) recruits and sends scholarship students from Liberia to GIMPA every year for masteR in public sector management, and always pay the students Tuition, Stipend, and accommodationRfees usually by February or latest march of every year; unlike in 2024 under the new LIPA leadership headed by Director General Hon. Nee-Alah T. Varpilah.
Under the leadership of MR. Varpilah the students have repeatedly engaged with LIPA’s leadership, and there has been absolutely no redress to the situation.
The students in a communication to LIPA said:
“We are a group of professional young Liberians, vetted by LIPA as scholars through a competitive process to study various disciplines at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration through the GOL-LIPA Scholarship Program for One year (2024).
The letter further stated that “Hon. Varpilah, while you are still settling in your new portfolio, we are not happy that our first communication to your office is a composite of greetings and problems; however, we would like to bring few things regarding our current conditions to your attention. These include, the payment of our tuition, accommodations, and stipend for our study leave in a foreign land have not been processed by GOL-through LIPA,”.
This unfortunate situation is imputing high level of academy-activities disabilities on us and we are becoming embarrassed. In the absence of our payments, we are unable to have any access to the student information portal that holds records of every student’s performance.
Through this communication, we kindly seek your intervention to look into these matters with utmost urgency and to take the necessary steps to ensure that the tuition, accommodation and stipend are promptly settled.
We have full confidence in your leadership and your commitment to attach importance to our welfare as Liberians, as you take swift action to resolve these demanding issues, the letter concludes.
FrontPage Africa has discovered that due to the difficulties and hardship affecting the Liberian students in Accra, they endeavored to utilize an opportunity of the president’s visit to Accra recently, where they were able to meet with the Liberian leader, Joseph Boakai and his team, and explained every critical moment they are faced with as students in a foreign land.
President Boakai adequately documented the students’ challenges, and assured them of a prompt resolution upon his return to Monrovia, evident by the publication on the Executive Mansion’s Facebook website that the president met with stranded stranded students in Ghana.
Sources in Ghana say all follow up attempts made by the student group both with the Executive Mansion and leadership of LIPA to find redress has yielded fruitless.
The Executive Mansion on July 5, 2024 reported that President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr. met with Liberian Students attending the Ghana Institute of Management & Public Administration (GIMPA) in Ghana.
During the president’s meeting with the students, they (students) expressed the challenges they are facing on the campus.
Issues such as tuition, stipend, and accommodation were highlighted during the engagement, the executive Mansion reports.
In response the Executive Mansion say the President promised to follow up and ensure swift action for the students.
But FrontPage Africa investigation has revealed that since the president pronouncement in Ghana, the situation of the students is getting worst by the day with yet no redress from the office of the president even the Presidential Press Secretary was being written by the students as a follow up.
Excerpt of the communication by the students to the press secretary to the president Boakai.
“Greetings Madam Press Secretary.
Based on the meeting we had with His Excellency Joseph N. Boakai, President of the Republic of Liberia, we are pleased to submit the payment listing of the Liberia Students from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA).
