A total of 3,146 Tertiary students have applied online for Government Scholarship for the 2021/2022 academic year in the 33 District Assemblies in the Eastern Region.
The highest number of applicants was recorded in New Juaben South which received 319 students follow by Abuakwa South and Birim Central with 199 and 176 respectively.
Also, Ayensuano District received the least number of 51 applicants, while Akuapim south and Atiwa West had 52 and 53 applicants respectively.
The Scholarship Secretariat started interviewing applicants on 2nd August and it is expected to end in ending of September 2021.
The government has allocated GH¢85 million to be distributed to the 55,000 beneficiaries as scholarships for the 2021/2022 academic year.
The online scholarship application portal, a digital initiative by the government to decentralize the scholarship application process and also to make scholarship application accessible to needy students at the local level throughout the country, was launched in 2020 and 47,000 students benefitted from the program.
Following the launch last year, 200,000 young people applied through the online platform, and unlike the old system, they did so online from the comfort of their local communities without traveling to Accra.
Scholarships Secretariat, since its establishment in 1960 as an extra-ministerial body under the Office of the President, has operated below capacity in its traditional bricks and mortar setting.
In 2017, President Akufo-Addo instructed the Scholarships Secretariat to decentralize its operations to increase access and eliminate the inconvenient experiences of Ghanaians in accessing sponsorship opportunities, specifically those from the hinterlands.
Source: Mybrytfmonline.com/Kofi Atakora
