Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu has announced plans to introduce the Ghana Scholarship Authority Bill to Parliament in the coming weeks, aiming to reform the current scholarship system and to improve the selection process.
Speaking at the WAEC Distinction Awards on Thursday, June 26, the Minister said, “I will be introducing in Parliament within the next few weeks, the Ghana Scholarship Authority Bill on behalf of the President as he pledged to the Ghanaian people to deal with nepotism, cronism that was associated with the award of scholarships.”
The proposed legislation will formalise a new merit-based scholarship system, including a presidential scholarship to reward outstanding academic performance in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
“As I introduce the bill, I have the pleasure of President John Mahama to announce today that the award winners of three will be expanded to 10 awardees,” he said.
He added, “All the awardees, over all best performing candidates in WASSCE every other year. All the awardees to be determined by WAEC will qualify for President John Mahama’s scholarship for schorlarship.”
The scholarships will be fully sponsored by the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) and administered through the proposed Ghana Scholarship Authority.
“So every other year without any interference to WAEC’s determination of these best students, 10 of them will receive the President’s pleasure of continued support with full GETFund-sponsored scholarship through the Scholarship Authority yet to be established,” he said.
The Minister detailed that the top five students from each academic programme; Science, General Arts, Business, and Visual Arts will receive awards, along with “the best female science and maths student and best performing female from the most deprived community.”
He also called on WAEC to incorporate this initiative into the upcoming legislation.
“So I am making the application to you, chairman, that when I bring the Ghana Scholarship Authority Bill, parts of its function will be to support the President and WAEC for the scholarship of scholarship undertaken by WAEC,” he said.
“So when you are doing your legislation, make room for the President’s scholarship for scholarship.”
He noted that President Mahama’s vision for the scheme goes beyond Ghana’s borders. “The President has also asked me to share with you that the second leg for that scholarship will be to promote Pan Africanism.”
“If there are other excellence students in the sub-region who want to learn our culture and for us to learn their culture, they may also qualify for the President’s Award from the neighbouring West African countries,” he said.
The Minister congratulated the awardees, encouraging them to be proud and ambitious.
“Walk shoulder high with confidence, be proud of the training you’ve gotten from your parents and teachers. Dream big but act with character and integrity.”
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