Scholarship Saga: Eduwatch Suggests Removal of Secretariat from Office of President
The Executive Director of the Africa Education Watch (EDUWATCH), Mr Kofi Asare has suggested the migration of the Ghana Scholarship Secretariat from the Office of the President at the Jubilee House as a solution to the numerous scandals it gets entangled in.
The secretariat was established in 1960 as an extra-ministerial body under the Office of the President mandated to administer all government scholarships both locally and abroad with the main aim of providing quality education for brilliant but financially needy students.
However, the administration of the scholarships appears not to be serving the purpose of its establishment as it has been found by the Fourth Estate that the politically connected and influential friends of the current government, are the beneficiaries.
The media organisation’s report alleges that GHS237.5 million and GHS200 million covering both foreign and local scholarships were spent in 2019 and 2020, respectively.
Out of that, it reports that at least 291,480 pounds sterling (GBP), 146,502 US dollars (USD) and 7,685 Canadian dollars (CAD) was spent between 2019-2020, by the Scholarship Secretariat on 20 influential individuals and the associates of the political elite.
Among the jaw-dropping beneficiaries are Dr Dennis Addo, the founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Claron Hospital, Gifty Oware-Mensah (née Oware-Aboagye), the deputy Executive Director of the National Service Scheme (NSS), Fawzy Ramadan, a relative and personal assistant to Second Lady, Samira Bawumia, Michael Ofori-Atta Jr, a relative of President Nana Akufo-Addo and former Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta and Celestina Amoako Atta, an NPP youth activist.
In reaction to this, Mr Kofi Asare proffered the removal of the Secretariat from the Office of the President as the only solution to the trend.
“Until we remove the scholarship secretariat from the Office of the President to the Ministry of Education, there will be no accountability. It will always be lamentations after the horses have bolted from the staple.”
