An average of GHC 2,750 per first year student is earmarked as free AFUF for students who have gained admission into public tertiary institutions.

This is enough to prevent the average prospective public tertiary student from NOT honouring their conditional admission due to the lack of about GHC 2,500 cash.

Normally, one has two to three weeks to pay or forfeit the conditional admission offer.

The 2025 main budget will be read in March, by which time some needy students may have missed their conditional admission deadlines.

It is therefore important for the incoming Ministers of Education and Finance or the Chief of Staff to arrange a one-month AFUF credit on behalf of such needy students; just so they don’t forfeit their conditional admissions offer on account of a delayed government support they may have relied on.

In such cases, after the budget is read, cash is paid to universities.

Hopefully, when this promise becomes policy, all such grey areas should be ironed out for adequate cushioning of the genuinely needy prospective student.

For greater impact, targeting this intervention at the needy would enable needy students get even more to support their accommodation in year one ahead of their first student loan which usually arrives at the end of same year.

NB: There are many in my inbox requiring this support to honour their admissions.