MP wants law to regulate scholarship secretariat against politicization

Ghana parliament

The decision to grant government scholarship to Ghanaians students to study abroad may soon be taken away from the hands of few individuals as Member of Parliament for Nsawam Adoagyiri initiates moves to get legal backing for the regulation of the secretariat.

Frank Annor Dompreh told Joy News, the secretariat faces two main challenges - the heavy hand of politics and the severe lack of decentralization.

In the present condition, the decision to grant scholarship is at the discretion of the national coordinator. This, the MP, said left room for political influence.

He added since 1983 when the country decided to decentralize its institution, the scholarship secretariat remained in Accra.

'The real needs are in the district where poverty is high, it is unthinkable that we have maintained the status quo where the secretariat is just in Accra,' he noted.

The MP said the law when finally passed will result in the establishment of offices in the region to decentralize activities of the scholarship secretariat.

The Scholarships Secretariat was established in January, 1960 as an extra-ministerial body under the Office of the President.

Its main object is to administer and exercise central control over scholarship awards, for manpower development so as to ensure effective manpower support for the various national development programmes.

It exists to utilize Government funds, GETFund and Donor support, for the provision of scholarship to brilliant but needy students.