GETFund scholarships in Ghana: who gets them and how to apply

GETFund is the largest single source of tertiary education funding in Ghana, yet many students only hear about its scholarships after the application window has closed. The Fund pays for undergraduate and postgraduate study every year and makes a smaller number of overseas awards. Individual amounts are modest, but the scheme reaches a lot of people, and for thousands of Ghanaian students it has been the difference between finishing a degree and dropping out early.

This guide covers who runs the scheme, what it pays for, when to look out for the notice and what the application involves.

What GETFund is

GETFund was established by Act 581 of 2000 to pay for tertiary education infrastructure and student support in Ghana. Its main income is a 2.5% levy on VAT receipts, ring-fenced for education. Most of the budget goes on buildings (lecture halls, hostels and laboratories at public universities), but a meaningful share is spent on scholarships.

The Fund runs four kinds of scholarship. Most applicants go for the local undergraduate award, so that is the focus below, though the process is similar across the streams.

Stream	Who it is for	What it has typically paid
Local undergraduate	Ghanaian students at accredited public tertiary institutions in Ghana	Full tuition for the length of the programme and a book and materials allowance each term; in some years a hostel allowance for students on campus
Local postgraduate	Master’s and PhD study in Ghana	Tuition and a small monthly stipend
Foreign	Study abroad in priority fields, usually science, technology, engineering and medicine, including Master’s and PhD study abroad	Full award: tuition, living stipend, return air ticket and settling-in allowance. Partial award: tuition only, or a fixed cash sum
Special	Persons with disabilities and students from underserved communities	Check the year’s circular

Award amounts and structure have changed over the years, so treat the right-hand column as recent practice and check the current year’s circular on the GETFund website before counting on any figure. No money is handed to the student in cash. Tuition goes straight to the institution, and allowances are paid into the student’s bank account in Ghana.

Who can apply

For the local undergraduate stream you need to be a Ghanaian citizen with a valid Ghana Card, admitted to (or already studying at) an accredited public tertiary institution. That covers the public universities, the former polytechnics that are now technical universities, and some recognised colleges of education. You also have to show financial need, normally through a parent’s or guardian’s income statement or payslips, or a letter from a community leader, and a good academic record. New applicants have usually needed Aggregate 24 or better in the WASSCE and continuing students a CGPA above 2.5, although the threshold moves from year to year.

The foreign stream asks for more. You need an unconditional offer from a recognised overseas university in a priority field, and the Fund prefers candidates with a first-class or upper-division undergraduate result from a Ghanaian institution.

The special stream has often covered students with documented disabilities, students from deprived districts (the list is published each year) and able students from poor homes who have been recommended by their secondary school.

When applications open

GETFund works on an annual cycle, but dates are announced by gazette and newspaper notice each year and do not follow a fixed calendar. The usual pattern looks like this:

Stream	Typical announcement	Typical deadline
Local undergraduate	July to September	Four to six weeks after announcement
Postgraduate local	August to October	Four to six weeks after announcement
Foreign awards	September to November	Six to eight weeks after announcement
Special scholarships	Rolling or aligned with local stream	Same window as local

From July onwards, keep an eye on the Daily Graphic, the GETFund website and the official GETFund account on X (Twitter). In some years the annual circular has also been posted on the Ghana Education Service portal. Confirm the current year’s dates on the official GETFund site.

GETFund does not publish acceptance figures. Applications are known to far exceed the number of awards, and the foreign stream is especially small, so it is worth putting in a complete and careful application or waiting until you can.

The application, step by step

The portal changes a little from year to year, but what it asks for stays much the same.

1. Collect your documents before the portal opens

Applicants miss the deadline each year because they find out halfway through the form that they need something they cannot get in time. Have these ready:

• clear scans of both sides of your Ghana Card
• your most recent transcript or WASSCE results slip
• your admission letter, or your student ID if you are a continuing student
• one passport-sized photograph
• evidence of your parent’s or guardian’s income: payslips, an employer’s letter or a community attestation
• contact details for two referees, usually a teacher and a community leader

2. Register on the portal

The Fund announces the portal link in the newspapers and on its website. You register with a working email address and your Ghana Card number. Keep your login details somewhere safe, because you will need them again at the selection stage.

3. Fill in every section accurately

The form asks for your academic history, family situation, household income and a short statement of purpose. Income figures are checked at the verification stage, and a declared income that does not match the documents is treated as a false statement, so report it exactly as it is.

4. Write the statement of purpose

Many applicants treat this as a formality, but it is the one part of the form where you are writing in your own words. In 400 to 500 words, explain what you are studying and why, the particular financial problem that puts the degree at risk without the award, what you have already done with the resources available to you (grades, leadership, community work) and what you plan to do after graduating.

Specific plans read better than general ones:

Our guide to writing a strong motivation letter goes into more detail.

5. Submit before the deadline

The portal closes at the published deadline and extensions are not normally given. Aim to submit at least 48 hours early, since the site slows down badly in the last hours.

6. Attend verification

Shortlisted candidates are called to a GETFund regional office for document verification. Bring the original of every document you uploaded. Failing verification loses you the award even if you met the academic and need criteria.

Where applications go wrong

Most avoidable failures are practical ones, and where two candidates look similar on paper, the statement of purpose is often what separates them.

Checking the details

The GETFund website is the only reliable source for the details in this guide. Eligibility thresholds, award amounts, deadlines and priority fields all change from year to year.

• Official site: getfund.gov.gh
• Scholarship enquiries: contact details for the scholarship desk are listed on the site under “Scholarships”
• Annual notices: published in the Daily Graphic and on the official social media channels, usually from July

If you are not selected, you can apply again in the next cycle. Before you do, work on whichever part of the application was weakest, which is usually the statement of purpose or the referee letters. Students in science and engineering should also look at the MTN Foundation Bright Scholarship and the GNPC Foundation scholarships.