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

GETFund is the largest single source of tertiary education funding in Ghana, and its scholarship arm is the one most Ghanaian students hear about late or not at all. It funds undergraduate, postgraduate, and a small number of overseas awards every year. The individual amounts are not enormous. The scheme is broad. Thousands of Ghanaians have finished degrees on a GETFund award that would otherwise have stalled at the first semester.

This guide tells you who runs it, what they pay for, when to apply, and what separates a winning application from the pile that gets thrown out.

What GETFund is, in plain terms

GETFund was established by Act 581 of 2000 to fund tertiary education infrastructure and student support in Ghana. It is financed mainly by a 2.5% levy on VAT receipts, ring-fenced for the education sector. The Fund spends most of its budget on physical infrastructure (lecture halls, hostels, laboratories at public universities), but a meaningful slice goes to direct scholarships.

The Fund administers several scholarship streams:

• Local scholarships for Ghanaian students at accredited Ghanaian public tertiary institutions
• Foreign scholarships for Ghanaian students pursuing studies abroad in fields the Fund identifies as priority areas (typically science, technology, engineering, medicine)
• Postgraduate awards at both Master’s and PhD level, locally and abroad
• Special scholarships for persons with disabilities and underserved communities

Most of the conversation in this guide is about local undergraduate awards, because that is where most applicants are, but the same principles apply across the streams.

Who can apply

The core eligibility for the local undergraduate stream is straightforward:

• Ghanaian citizen with a valid Ghana Card
• Admitted to (or already studying at) an accredited Ghanaian public tertiary institution, public universities, polytechnics now technical universities, and a handful of recognised colleges of education
• Demonstrated financial need, usually evidenced by parent or guardian income statements, payslips, or a letter from a community leader
• Strong academic record, at least Aggregate 24 or better in the WASSCE for new applicants, or a CGPA above 2.5 for continuing students (the exact threshold shifts year to year)

For the foreign scholarship stream, the bar is higher. You need to already have an unconditional offer from a recognised overseas university in a priority field, and the Fund prefers candidates with first-class or upper-division performance at the Ghanaian undergraduate level.

A few categories that often qualify under the special stream:

• Students with documented disabilities
• Students from deprived regions (specific districts published yearly)
• Brilliant-but-needy candidates flagged by their secondary school

What you get

The award amounts and structure have shifted over the years, so the numbers below should be treated as recent norms rather than guaranteed entitlements. Verify the current year’s circular on the GETFund website before relying on any figure.

For the local undergraduate stream, a typical award covers:

• Full tuition fees at the host institution for the duration of the programme
• A book and academic materials allowance, paid termly
• In some years, a hostel allowance for students on residential campuses

For the postgraduate local stream, awards extend tuition coverage and add a small monthly stipend during the programme.

For the foreign scholarship stream, full awards cover tuition, a living stipend, return airfare, and a settling-in allowance. Partial awards cover only tuition or a fixed cash equivalent.

The Fund does not pay in cash to the student. Tuition is disbursed directly to the institution, and allowances are paid via the student’s Ghana-registered bank account.

When applications open

GETFund runs on an annual cycle, but the exact dates are announced via gazette and newspaper notice, not a fixed calendar. The pattern, in broad strokes:

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

Watch the Daily Graphic, the GETFund website, and the official GETFund X (Twitter) account around July each year. The Fund also publishes its annual scholarship circular on the Ghana Education Service portal in some years.

Verify the exact dates for the current year on the official GETFund site.

How competitive is it

GETFund does not publish acceptance figures. What is on the public record: the local undergraduate stream takes tens of thousands of applications and makes single-digit thousands of awards each year. The postgraduate stream is smaller. The foreign stream is small enough that getting on it is genuinely hard. Treat all of these as competitive. Submit a serious application or do not bother.

How to apply, step by step

The process is broadly the same across streams. The interface changes year to year as the Fund updates its portal, but the substance is consistent.

1. Gather your documents before the portal opens

Every year, applicants miss the deadline because they discover halfway through that they need a document they cannot produce in time. Have these ready:

• Ghana Card (national ID) front and back, clear scans
• Most recent academic transcript or WASSCE results slip
• Admission letter from your institution (or current student ID for continuing students)
• One passport-sized photograph
• Parent or guardian income evidence: payslips, employer letter, or community attestation
• Two referees with their contact details (typically a teacher and a community leader)

2. Register on the GETFund portal when it opens

The Fund publishes the portal link via newspaper notice and on its website. Create an account using a working email and the Ghana Card number. Save the login carefully; you will need it again at selection stage.

3. Complete every section truthfully

The portal asks for academic history, family situation, income disclosure, and a short statement of purpose. Be honest about household income; falsified income statements are the single biggest reason applications get tossed at verification stage. The Fund cross-checks against the Ghana Revenue Authority for parents in formal employment.

4. Write the personal statement properly

Most applicants treat this as a formality. It is the only place in the application where you have any control over the outcome. In 400 to 500 words, tell the panel:

• What you are studying and why
• The specific financial barrier that puts the degree at risk without the award
• What you have done with the resources you already have (academic record, leadership, community work)
• What you will do with the degree after graduation

Be specific. Generic statements like “I want to use my education to help my country” are forgettable. “I plan to return to the Upper West Region as a health information officer at the Wa Regional Hospital” lands. We have a longer guide on writing a strong motivation letter that applies here too.

5. Submit before the deadline

The portal closes at the published deadline and no extensions are granted under normal circumstances. Submit at least 48 hours before the deadline; the portal slows to a crawl in the final hours.

6. Follow the verification stage

Shortlisted candidates are called for document verification at GETFund regional offices. Take the originals of every document you submitted scans of. Verification failure at this stage costs you the award even if you cleared the academic and need bars.

Common mistakes that cost the award

• Filing parent income that does not match employer records. The Fund verifies with Ghana Revenue Authority and Social Security. Discrepancies are treated as fraud.
• Submitting the wrong stream. A postgraduate applicant filing through the undergraduate portal will not be auto-redirected. Read the stream description carefully.
• Using a non-Ghana bank account. Allowances are disbursed only to Ghanaian banks. Open a basic savings account before applying if you do not have one.
• Listing referees without telling them. When the Fund calls a referee who has never heard of you, your application is dead.
• Treating the statement of purpose as filler. This is where ties between similar candidates are broken.

Where to find more, and verify everything

The single source of truth for every detail in this guide is the GETFund website. Eligibility thresholds, award amounts, deadline windows, and priority fields all move year to year.

• Official site: getfund.gov.gh
• Scholarship enquiries: scholarship desk contact details are published on the site under “Scholarships”
• Annual notices: appear in the Daily Graphic and on the official social media channels around July each year

GETFund will not contact you by SMS or WhatsApp asking for payment to “process” an application. The application is free. Any request for money is a scam, there are several active GETFund scams every year, and the Fund publishes warnings about them periodically.

If your application is unsuccessful, you can reapply the following cycle. Many GETFund recipients applied two or three times before winning, particularly for the foreign and postgraduate streams. Strengthen the weakest part of your previous application (usually the statement of purpose or referee letters) before trying again.