The Ghana Scholarships Secretariat says its newly digitised applications platform offers equal and greater opportunities to applicants.
In an exclusive interview with the Takoradi-based Skyy Power FM, the Registrar of the Scholarships Secretariat, Kingsley Agyemang, said that the new platform has allowed the agency to resolve some of the challenges that dogged the previous manual system.
“For some time now, an online portal has been open to receive applications from eligible persons across the country, thereby putting to an end to the direct and manual applications to the district assemblies,” he said.
Apply in your own district
In 2018, the government decentralised the scholarships system, allowing applicants to submit applications at the district level for study at tertiary education level across the country. It also made payments totalling GHC128 million to settle arrears on bursaries owed to beneficiary students.
The Registrar said that the use of new technology makes access to the state scholarships fund even more open.
“I would say that among many things, the new digitised platform makes things much simpler, not just for applicants but for us as well,” Agyemang said. “The benefits are enormous.
“In the 2019/2020 academic year alone we were able to process and provide funding for more than double the number of students from the previous year.
“The government has also allocated a whopping GHC80 million for students this year. I believe this was mainly possible because we didn’t have to deal with the challenges of the previous system.
“In all, a total of 32,850 beneficiaries were recorded for the 2019/2020 scholarship year.”
The Registrar encouraged interested and eligible applicants to enroll before the portal shuts on 15 May.
The Scholarships Secretariat was established in 1960. It offers funding to Ghanaian students to study both in country and abroad. The scholarships span almost all areas and levels of study.
Atsu Boye
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