SONA 2026: Law Students Now Eligible for Student Loans
John Dramani Mahama announces inclusion of law students in Student Loan Trust Fund scheme as 152,000 students benefit from No-Fee Stress policy.
President John Dramani Mahama has announced a significant policy shift to ease the cost of legal education, declaring that law students will now be eligible for financial support under the Student Loan Trust Fund.
The announcement, made during the 2026 State of the Nation Address in Parliament on February 27, marks what the President described as a decisive step toward removing financial barriers that prevent qualified students from pursuing higher education.
“Education remains the most powerful tool for national transformation,” he told Parliament, reaffirming that expanding access to tertiary education remains central to his administration’s reform agenda.
President Mahama revealed that more than 152,000 first-year students in public tertiary institutions have already benefited from the government’s No-Fee Stress initiative, launched in 2025 to cushion students against upfront academic costs. That number, he said, is projected to rise to approximately 220,000 before the end of the academic year.
The extension of the student loan scheme to law students represents a notable departure from previous funding limitations within legal education, which has often been criticised as financially restrictive.
By integrating law students into the national loan framework, the government aims to democratise access to one of the country’s most competitive professional fields.
In addition, the President announced the successful rollout of the Free Tertiary Education Policy for Persons with Disabilities, describing it as a major milestone in promoting inclusive and equitable access to higher education.
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He stressed that the combined interventions underscore a broader commitment: ensuring that no Ghanaian student is denied tertiary education because of financial hardship.
The latest reforms signal a widening of the government’s higher education financing strategy — one that places affordability, inclusion, and opportunity at the centre of national development.
