By Kodjo Adams
Accra, Nov. 28, GNA – Ms Virginia Palmer, USA Ambassador to Ghana, says 9,394 students in 2024 are studying in the United States of America, compared to 6,468 students in 2023.
The Ambassador said in sub-Saharan Africa, 56,780 students in 2024 were studying in the USA, compared to 50,199 students in 2023.
Ambassador Palmer said this at the opening of a new centre for Education USA advisors in Osu, Accra.
The new centre in Osu will be open to the public, especially prospective students seeing advice.
Ambassador Palmer said over the last year, Education USA advisors from the Accra and Kumasi-based centres had helped thousands of Ghanaian students to apply for admissions across hundreds of accredited institutions of higher learning in the United States.
The centres, she stressed, had helped Ghanaian students over the past years to receive GHc141 million in scholarships, adding that Ghana was the second in sub-Saharan Africa to get students to study in the USA.
The 2024 Open Doors Report shows that Ghana is ranked in the top 25 countries globally for sending students to the United States.
The report ranked Ghana 18th with 9,394 Ghanaians who studied in the United States in 2023-2024, an increase of 45.2 per cent and an all-time record high.
She said Ghanaians in graduate programmes totalled 6,337, representing a 54 per cent increase and making Ghana the 9th largest sender globally of graduate students to the United States.
Ghanaian students earned nearly $9.2 million in scholarships to more than 680 higher educational institutions in all
She encouraged students to visit the centres and get information about university education in U.S. for free.
Mrs Maamle Andrews, the Chief Director, Ministry of Education, said the new office would serve the southern part of the country.
The initiative, she said, would deepen the relationship between the two countries and strengthen educational opportunities for the students.
She said the Ministry would continue to partner with the U.S. to address any challenge that might be encountered in accessing information to study in the U.S.
Notse Nii Nortey Owuo IV, the Osu Mantse, said an educated population ensured critical thinkers and saw vision for the country.
He urged the youth to take advantage of the opportunity to study in the U.S. and come back to make a positive impact on the country.
Through EducationUSA, the U.S. Department of State’s network of education advisers, the U.S. Embassy provides guidance virtually and in-person to qualified individuals on how to successfully apply to U.S. colleges and universities.
GNA