Hungarian scholarship recipients urged to be worthy ambassadors

By Kingsley Webora TANKEH

The Deputy Registrar at the Ghana Scholarship Secretariat, Mr. Bartholomew Nambazing, has urged recipients of the Stipendium Hungaricum – a Hungarian government fully-funded scholarship – to “be worthy ambassadors and honour the bond” between the two countries.

The government of Ghana and that of Hungary collaborated in 2015 to facilitate the training of 50 Ghanaian students annually in various Hungarian universities – at both the bachelor and postgraduate levels. The scholarship covers courses in engineering, agriculture and business among others.

However, in 2019, the number of annual recipients of the scholarship was revised upward to 100. Now, over 800 Ghanaian students are studying in Hungary.

68 students have been awarded the prestigious scholarship, this year. This is because 32 students have overstayed, thereby impacting the 2025 intake.

Speaking at the Stipendium Hungaricum Alumni and Orientation Day 2025, Deputy Registrar-Ghana Scholarship Secretariat, Mr. Bartholomew Nambazing, congratulated the students and urged them to be exemplary ambassadors.

“Eschew indiscipline and all forms of vice. You must fully focus on your studies and always remember how privileged you are,” he said – acknowledging that education is a right but international study is a distinct privilege.

While expressing gratitude to the Hungarian government for its commitment to youth development in Ghana, he urged the students to “honour your commitment to return and serve Ghana”. He placed significant emphasis on the legally-binding bond form all recipients must sign before departure.

“By completing the bond forms, you have signed to return to Ghana on completion of your studies,” Mr. Nambazing stressed.

“Please take this seriously, because we have issues with some people.” He referenced problems with graduates from other scholarship programmes, particularly in the UK and US, seeking to stay abroad after their studies.

He is however hopeful that this pattern won’t repeat itself with the Hungary-bound scholars. He urged students to notify the Ghana Embassy in Hungary three months before completing studies to avoid the casualty of forfeiting government-funded return air tickets.

At the orientation ceremony for Ghanaian students bound for Hungary on the prestigious Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship, Deputy Head of Mission-Hungarian Embassy Ms. Krisztina Orosz-Jaksi said the scholarship is not just an educational aid, but also a strategic tool for deepening Ghana-Hungary relations and fostering mutual understanding, describing the programme as a vital “bridge” connecting the two distant nations about 5,000 kilometres apart.

“It is the primary duty of me and my fellow diplomats to build bridges… bridges that allow for the exchange of culture, goods and knowledge,” Ms. Orosz-Jaksi stated. “In this work, we rely greatly on young Ghanaians like yourself to act as ambassadors.”

She therefore charged the scholars to learn about Hungarian culture and then bring their ideas back to develop their home country,  Ghana.

The Stipendium Hungaricum Scholarship Programme was launched in 2013 by the Hungarian government to internationalise Hungarian higher education.

Ms. Orosz-Jaksi highlighted the programme’s growth over the years, noting the increase of Ghana’s annual scholarship allocation to 100. She explained that this makes sifting through the over-3,000 applicants to arrive at 68 a “truly commendable achievement”.

She welcomed the new cohort into an “exclusive community” of talented Ghanaian youth destined to return and use their Hungarian-acquired skills to build a better future for Ghana.

Ms. Orosz-Jaksi recognised key Alumni and partners – notably highlighting Mr. George Odamten, founder of the Governance Africa Foundation, a Pan-African NGO focused on promoting democracy, civil rights and youth empowerment; and Rev. Dr. Lawrence Tetteh, who are both Hungarian-educated and now actively promoting ties between the two nations.

Reminiscing the joyful memories and reflecting on his school days in Hungary, Founder and Leader of Worldwide Miracle Outreach, Rev. Dr. Lawrence Tetteh, echoed the sentiment of “worthy ambassadors”.

He urged the students to be disciplined, patriotic and not engage in activities that could tarnish the global reputation of Ghana. He advised them to be patient. “It is unwise to start demonstrating when the stipend does not come in time,” he said – alluding to similar events in the past where Ghanaian students in Hungary protested over a delay in disbursement of stipend by the Ghana Scholarship Secretariat.

The governments of Ghana and Hungary signed a bilateral agreement in 2015 which allows Ghanaians to study in Hungary under the  fully-funded Stipendium Hungaricum programme.

The Ministry of Education through the Ghana Scholarship Secretariat is the coordinating and implementing agency for the Stipendium Hungaricum programme. It does the selection and interviews while the Embassy finally awards the scholarships.

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