A severe predicament is currently affecting Ghanaian doctoral candidates pursuing advanced studies in the United Kingdom. A considerable number of these scholars are facing the grim prospect of deportation due to their government’s failure to provide essential tuition fees and living allowances. This situation starkly contrasts with recent policy shifts in Canada, which is deliberately reducing its intake of temporary residents, consequently impacting its population figures. These divergent circumstances vividly illustrate the complex interplay between national financial policies, international educational ambitions, and the broader economic consequences of immigration.
Over one hundred Ghanaian PhD students in the UK have found themselves in a precarious situation, their academic journeys jeopardised. These individuals, whose studies were purportedly sponsored by their home government, are now in a critical state. The newly established administration in Ghana has inherited significant outstanding debts amounting to approximately £32 million owed to British academic institutions. This substantial financial obligation has regrettably led to a halt in awarding new scholarships and, more importantly, has resulted in the non-payment of existing commitments to students already enrolled. Consequently, some students have been expelled from prestigious universities like University College London and the University of Nottingham due to unpaid fees. This has, in turn, prompted action from the UK Home Office, leading to the deportation of several affected scholars.
The crisis has inflicted immense hardship upon the affected students. Reports indicate that many are facing eviction from their residences or are resorting to desperate measures, including incurring debt and relying on food banks, to survive while striving to complete their doctoral research. Prince Komla Bansah, who leads the group representing these Ghanaian students, emphasised the gravity of their circumstances. He stated that the survival of many students is uncertain, noting the extreme difficulty of balancing part-time work with demanding PhD studies. Furthermore, he revealed that a significant number of students have accumulated substantial debt and are obtaining loans from their home country. The Ghanaian scholarship secretariat has launched an investigation in the UK, with its registrar scheduled to visit in April, as the government conducts an audit of scholarships awarded by the previous administration. Although instalment payment plans were initially arranged with some UK universities, these agreements have reportedly been withdrawn in certain cases, intensifying the urgency of this developing crisis.
Meanwhile, Canada is actively revising its immigration policies, signalling a strategic departure from its historical reliance on robust immigration for economic advancement. During the third quarter of 2023, the nation experienced a notable population decrease of 0.2%. This decline is directly attributed to a more restrictive approach towards non-permanent residents, whose share of the total population has fallen from 7.3% to 6.8% within the same timeframe. Canadian Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne acknowledged that Canada had "exceeded our capacity to welcome" and adequately service immigrants in recent years, thus explaining the rationale behind this policy adjustment. The federal government has set ambitious goals to reduce the number of international student permits, aiming to halve new arrivals from a projected 305,900 in 2025 to 155,000 in 2026, and further to 150,000 annually for 2027 and 2028. This strategic recalibration is intended to bring the proportion of non-permanent residents down to 5% of the total population by the end of 2027. Despite these planned reductions, Canada intends to maintain or even increase the number of permanent residents admitted, with projections suggesting 395,000 in 2025, 380,000 in 2026, and 365,000 in 2027, thereby seeking to balance population growth with the provision of services and infrastructure capacity.