The Majority Chief Whip in Parliament and Member of Parliament for Nsawam Adoagyiri, Frank Annoh Dompreh, has called for the decentralisation of scholarship administration in Ghana.
According to the lawmaker, the move aims to make applications accessible to Ghanaians across the country and was initiated under the Akufo-Addo-led New Patriotic Party (NPP) government.
Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Tuesday, July 8, Mr Annoh Dompreh urged the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government to include his proposal in the new scholarship bill.
“It’s not just about meritocracy. I recall I made a call for the Scholarship Secretariat to be decentralised, and the previous NPP government set the tone.
“So we shouldn’t just focus on meritocracy alone. We should also focus on decentralising the Scholarship Secretariat. That, for me, will be the trust and the game changer,” he said.
This comes after a new Ghana Scholarship Authority Bill was laid before Parliament on Tuesday by the Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu.
According to the Tamale South MP, the bill seeks to address nepotism and cronyism in scholarship administration, which often benefits the rich instead of the poor.
The bill also aims to elevate the Ghana Scholarship Secretariat into an Authority.
