The Asuogyaman District Director of Education, Madam Augustina Adwoa Owusu, has stated that the annual tertiary education support scheme instituted by the Member of Parliament for Asuogyaman, Thomas Nyarko Ampem, is increasing tertiary education enrollment in the district.
According to Africa Education Watch, preliminary data from the 2025 WASSCE results and tertiary admissions monitoring indicate that only about 160,000 students are expected to gain admission for the 2025/26 academic year, down from roughly 195,000 last year, raising concerns over a sharp decline in the nation’s tertiary transition rate.
In a statement released on January 16 this year, Eduwatch warned that, beyond the impact of poor exam performance, a significant number of qualified applicants remain at home nationwide with their admission letters because they cannot afford the required tuition fees, even as lectures have already commenced—threatening Ghana’s target to increase gross tertiary enrolment to 40% by 2030.
Asuogyaman District GES Director Augustina Owusu presenting a cheque to a beneficiary
At Asuogyaman, the GES Director, Madam Augustina Owusu, confirmed that for many years, financial difficulties discouraged several brilliant but needy students from pursuing higher education after completing secondary school.
As a result, many were compelled to abandon their academic aspirations and join their parents in fishing and other related activities, which remain the mainstay of the Asuogyaman economy.
Madam Owusu noted that the sustained financial intervention by the MP is changing this narrative, as more young people are now receiving financial support through the MP to enroll in tertiary institutions across the country.
“It is going to help in a very long way in the sense that when you come to a basic level you see that some of our children are struggling. They work and fend for themselves. When you go to senior high school it’s worse off, and when they get to tertiary, they have to work to support themselves. So with this support, it is giving the students hope to pursue higher education, and now enrollment has increased,” she said.
Dzawu Victor, one of the beneficiaries engaging in labourer work on campus to pay fees
The GES Director made the remarks on Friday, January 16, 2026, when a total of 220 first-year and continuing students from various communities in the constituency benefitted from the latest phase of the MP’s support programme.
The beneficiaries received cheques ranging between GHC2,000 and GHC5,000, depending on individual fees and academic needs.
The Member of Parliament for Asuogyaman, who also serves as Deputy Minister of Finance, instituted the Tertiary Education Support Programme about four years ago to assist both fresh and continuing students in accredited tertiary institutions who apply for financial support.
The MP has since invested millions of Ghana cedis from his share of the MPs Common Fund and the District Assemblies Common Fund into the initiative.
In a statement made on behalf of the MP by Karim Awudu, his Special Assistant, he reaffirmed the MP’s commitment to education, describing it as a critical tool for transforming lives and securing the future of the constituency.
“This initiative reflects my firm belief that every young person deserves the opportunity to pursue higher education without being held back by financial barriers,” he stated.
He explained that the support aims to ease the burden of tuition, accommodation, and other academic-related expenses, particularly for students from less privileged families facing difficult economic conditions.
“Education remains one of the most powerful tools for transforming lives and shaping the future of our constituency. I am proud of the resilience and determination our young people continue to show, and I am committed to standing with them every step of the way,” the MP added.
Several beneficiaries, who spoke at the event, recounted the financial challenges they face in pursuing tertiary education and expressed profound gratitude to the MP for the timely intervention, which they said has brought them renewed hope and motivation to focus on their studies.
One of the beneficiaries, Dzawu Victor, shared his struggles on campus:
“I’m studying Bachelor of Arts in English Language Education, and I’m currently in level 400, first semester. Actually, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in education at the University of Winneba is not easy because I find it difficult to pay my school fees and buy textbooks. So what I do is, when I don’t have lectures and no weekend classes, I follow masons to work as a labourer, and at the end of the day they pay me. When they pay me, I’m able to eat some food and also save some for part of my school fees, books, and hostel fee. I do all kinds of work—not only mason work. I work for schools, in houses, backyards, or farms—any kind of work that gives me money to survive on campus. I don’t feel shy about any work.”
The ceremony was attended by the District Chief Executive, Hon. Godwin Bobobee; Hon. Bright Sikanku, the Asuogyaman constituency chairman; parents and guardians; and other stakeholders.
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