Let scholarship be merit-based - Education Minister charges Scholarship Governing Board
The Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, yesterday inaugurated the governing Board of the Scholarship Authority with the call on the members to ensure that scholarships are awarded based on Merit, need and specific categories for the purpose of national development.
“I trust your judgement in particular that from today, scholarships in Ghana will reflect only these three values,” he charged the board members.
He said the overarching consideration should be guided by whether the awarding was meritorious, whether the person deserved of the scholarship and whether the person genuinely was in need and could not afford.
“Chairman, to remind you and other members of this authority that sometimes the President may so decide in pursuit of pan-Africanism or in pursuit of continental matters of unification or developments of conflicts in other parts of the sub-region.”
“That category of persons may deserve of government support. It will not be out of place for you to extend scholarships to them when that becomes necessary.
Council members
The board is chaired by a former GETFund Administrator Samuel Garba, with some ministries and institutional representations including a representative from the Ministry of Education, Inusah Shirazu, Ministry of Finance Nelly Mireku, Ministry of Jobs, Labour and Employment Hamidu Adakurugu, and the Ministry of Youth Empowerment and Development Eric Akuetteh Ahele.
Others are a representative from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Alexander Grant Ntrakwa, the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Vida Owusua Mensah, and a representative from the Office of the Attorney-General, Frederica Sala Illiasu.
The rest are a representative of the Association of Ghana Industries, Joyce Ababio, a representative from the Students Loan Fund, Dr Saajida Shirazu, a representative from civil society in education nominated by the minister Daniel Botchway, the Director-General of the Scholarship Authority, Alexander Kwaku Asafo-Adjei and two other persons nominated by the President, at least one of whom is a woman, Prof. Benedicta Yayra Fosu-Mensah and Alfred Nii Kotey Ashie.
Regulation and Administration
Mr Iddrisu said one of the major promises President John Dramani Mahama made was to regulate and administer scholarships in a manner that was devoid of cronyism, corruption, and undue advantage of public resources and scholarship in honour of themselves and, in some instances, their children and relations.
The minister described such practice as unacceptable, saying that necessitated the need for legislation to strengthen the governance of scholarship and its award in Ghana.
“Somebody should not get to a position and decide that I am awarding the scholarship to my son or cousin, or even a Member of Parliament who has the capacity to finance himself,” Mr Iddrisu said.
“That is an unacceptable practice in our governance,” he said and gave the assurance that neither he nor his deputy would interfere in the work of the authority.”
“We are not among those who will come knocking on your door asking that scholarships be awarded to our children.
That is not acceptable. We simply will not do that,” he further assured the board.
