“No Fees, No Stress”: Why Mahama’s New Policy Feels Like a Lifeline — and a Lesson in What We Really Value
-I’ll never forget the look on my cousin Aba’s face when she got her admission letter to UCC.
She was glowing. Beaming. Couldn’t stop talking about how she’d be the first in our family to study journalism.
Then two weeks later… the glow was gone.
I remember sitting on the edge of her bed, watching her cry into a pillow because the family simply couldn’t come up with the fees.
It wasn’t that we didn’t want to help — we just couldn’t.
And Aba? She quietly started selling secondhand clothes in the market instead.
-Then Came This News.
Former President John Mahama just launched a new initiative called “No Fees, No Stress.”
I didn’t really think much of it when I first saw the headline scrolling through Facebook. Political talk, I thought. You know how it goes.
But then I read deeper: over 15,000 first-year tertiary students have already received fee payments through this policy.
Fifteen thousand Aba’s.
Fifteen thousand dreams that didn’t have to get buried under debt, shame, and “maybe next year.”
And I couldn’t help but wonder what would have happened if something like this had come along earlier for her.
-What I’ve Noticed Lately…
In my experience, education in Ghana feels like a weird kind of lottery.
Your intelligence doesn’t really matter if you can’t afford the ticket.
We keep telling young people to work hard, aim high, believe in themselves — but at the end of the day, the gatekeepers are always holding calculators.
And that stress? It kills something in people.
It makes them bitter. Tired. Resentful.
I’ve seen brilliant students drop out, become petty traders, or even worse — stop believing they were ever capable in the first place.
-Why This Matters
I could be wrong, but… I think the “No Fees, No Stress” idea is bigger than just paying someone’s school bill.
It’s a statement about what kind of country we want to be.
Do we really value talent? Or just the people who can pay?
Do we want the next generation of teachers, doctors, and journalists to be chosen based on merit? Or on whose parents can hustle enough to cover semester fees?
Fifteen thousand students is just the beginning — but it’s a start.
-Everyday Scenarios That Hit Different Now
Scrolling through WhatsApp status updates of friends graduating…
Hearing a neighbor’s daughter saying, “I’m going to KNUST!” without that awkward pause about money…
Seeing my own cousin smile again at the idea of applying next year because, hey, maybe this time she’ll actually get in…
It all feels lighter somehow.
-But Here’s the Thing
Policies like this are only as good as the people who keep them alive.
Will it last?
Will it scale?
Will it actually reach the ones who need it most — or just become another name-dropping exercise at campaign rallies?
-Final Thought
I keep thinking of Aba.
And how she might’ve been sitting in a newsroom right now, writing her own version of this story, if her path hadn’t been blocked by money.
And I wonder —
How many more Aba’s are out there, just waiting for someone to take the weight of “fees” off their backs so they can finally breathe?
Because the truth is, no one can learn when all they feel is stress.
And maybe, just maybe… no one should have to.