#SONA2025: Government to publish list of scholarship beneficiaries to stop unfair allocations

President John Dramani Mahama has directed that the list of government scholarship recipients be published annually to promote transparency and prevent wealthy students from taking opportunities meant for the underprivileged.

Delivering his first State of the Nation Address (#SONA2025) in Parliament on Thursday, February 27 2025, he acknowledged long-standing flaws in the scholarship system, which have allowed well-off students to crowd out those in real need.

“The administration of scholarships has been fraught with challenges. The poor who genuinely need support struggle to access it because the wealthy always find ways to get ahead of them,” he said.

To address this, the president announced new measures, including the annual publication of beneficiaries to expose and eliminate abuse.

“To promote transparency and fairness, we will refine the process to ensure that only deserving students benefit,” Mr Mahama stated.

He added that the new approach would help prevent political interference and favouritism in awarding scholarships.

The announcement has been welcomed by education advocates, who have urged the government to enforce the new measures strictly.

Mr Mahama also outlined plans to expand scholarship opportunities, particularly for students from deprived communities pursuing studies in fields such as law, medicine, and engineering.

As part of broader reforms in the education sector, he revealed plans to improve school feeding programmes, strengthen STEM and TVET education, and introduce the Zero to Hero initiative to improve literacy and numeracy at the basic school level.

These changes, he said, would make the education system fairer, more inclusive, and better suited to today’s economic demands.