The Ghana Scholarships Secretariat has set aside GHC80 million to be awarded in scholarships for the 2020/2021 academic year.
Kingsley Agyemang, registrar for the Ghana Scholarships Secretariat, said the money will benefit thousands of students from across the country.
Agyemang said it is expected to cater for the scholarships of 50,000 qualified candidates from both public and private institutions.
In the past three and a half years, more candidates have been applying for scholarships, he said.
“Let me again put on record that this is the first time that we are having a local scholarship award for the payment of tuition fees or academic facility user fees,” Agyemang said.
He was speaking at a workshop held in Ho in the Volta Region to train representatives of beneficiary tertiary institutions on the scholarship’s validation process.
Progressive performance
Statistics collated since the scholarship scheme was introduced in 2017 show that the level of participation has been progressive, Agyemang said.
In 2017 fewer than 2,000 students were awarded scholarships but the numbers have risen astronomically since then.
“When President Akufo-Addo introduced this in 2017 … we awarded just about 1,780 students.
“In 2018, we awarded about 9,500 students. In 2019, 29,000 students. So if you look at the percentage jump, it’s been very, very progressive,” he said.
PhD candidates
Agyemang further disclosed that the scholarships cover tuition for candidates who are pursuing diplomas, Bachelor’s degrees and even PhDs.
The tuition fees vary from candidate to candidate but the Ghana Scholarships Secretariat believes that the GHC80 million it has set aside to cover bursaries in the coming year will meet the need.
“You know, tuitions vary and the levels also vary,” Agyemang said. “We are talking of diploma, we are talking of certificates, we are talking of Bachelor’s, we are talking of Master’s, we are talking of PhDs. All qualify, whether private or public; all qualify for this …
“So, in our budget, we have about GHC80 million to take care of this particular activity of government.”
He added that the secretariat was expecting school representatives to provide the necessary data on candidates imminently, so that their scholarships can be awarded.
E A Alanore
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