Scholarship Secretariat Officially Opens Online Application Portal For Free SHS Graduates

The Ghana Scholarships Secretariat following the directive of President Akufo-Addo has officially opened the online scholarship application portal for first batch of ‘Akufo-Addo graduates’.

President Akufo-Addo directed the Scholarships Secretariat to immediately open the online portal for these free SHS graduates to apply for scholarships for their tertiary education as soon as possible.

This scholarship scheme is for students who obtained excellent grades in the 2020 WASSCE.

Eligibility

All applicants who wrote the WASSCE in 2020 and have gained admission or have applied for admission into an accredited local tertiary institution are eligible to apply.

Speaking at a media encounter, Tuesday, the Registrar of the Scholarship Secretariat, Kingsley Agyemang commended the government for making education its priority.

“Beyond offering such an opportunity to all, one of the cardinal imperatives of the policy is to lower the high levels of illiteracy in our society. The bold step taken by President Akufo-Addo will soon yield good fruits and Ghana shall prosper. To make it one of the priority areas in a manifesto is something that needs commendation and to even walk the talk deserves more commendation. Education has proven to be the most effective bridge in closing the gap between the rich and the poor, and requires all the seriousness it deserve, something the Akufo-Addo government has and continues to do.

“This is an opportunity for our cherished 1st beneficiaries of the Free SHS Policy who would be eligible to once again enjoy a Tuition-Free tertiary education in Ghana under H. E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo,” he added.

NDC ‘Dishonourable’ Claim

Meanwhile, Mr Kingsley Agyemang has taken a swipe at the National Democratic Congress for claiming credit for the Free SHS policy; ‘a policy they spoke and campaigned against’. 

“President John Dramani Mahama, who today is all over the country dishonourably claiming to be the originator of the Free SHS said, he would not spend GH¢2 billion on Free SHS if he had that money.

“And so ladies and gentlemen of the press, how can we trust the country into the hands of a man who not only said the Free SHS was not possible but also cancelled the allowances for teacher and nurse trainees as well as that of Arabic teachers while in office.

Definitely, education is not a priority for them. Apart from that, former President Mahama, was so much against the Free SHS to the extent that he used any given opportunity to run down the policy”.