Plan International launches scholarship scheme for SHS

By Iddi Yire, GNA
Winneba (C/R), Aug 25, GNA - Plan International Ghana, in partnership with Prudential Life Insurance, has launched a five-year scholarship scheme for senior high schools.

The541,080 dollar scholarship scheme, being implemented by Plan International Ghana with funding from the Prudential Life Insurance, aims at providing support to 555 brilliant but needy students in the Ashanti, Brong Ahafo, Central, Eastern, Greater Accra, Volta and Western regions.

The project seeks to safe-guard the future of the beneficiaries and to give them an opportunity to pursue their aspirations in life.

Ms Fadimata Alainchar, the Country Director of Plan International Ghana, said the scholarship scheme came to complement the efforts of Plan International over the years adding that 60 per cent of the beneficiaries would be girls.

She said the project intended to reduce the incidence of students dropping out of school as a result of financial difficulties of parents and guardians.

"We believe secondary education is a stepping stone to access tertiary education and improve chances of employment and livelihoods," she said.

"To date 400 students; 240 girls and 160 boys; between the ages of 14 and 15 years have been awarded a three-year scholarship package to complete their senior high education," she added.

Ms Alainchar said poverty was one of the basic reasons why many children in Ghana were unable to access secondary education.

She said many children who qualified for senior high education were not able to enroll due to high cost and the inability of parents/guardians and children to afford the education at that level.

She said: 'There is an even more worrying trend and there is enough evidence to the fact that when parents have limited resources for their children's education and have to make a choice, it is always the girl-child that is sacrificed in favour of the boy due to socio-cultural practices that give preference to boys' education over girls.'

Ms Alainchar said the partnership of Plan International Ghana with Prudential Life Insurance was very important as it promoted the private-public partnership concept and this should be encouraged.

'Many of such partnerships will help many more children in our communities and country to attain greater heights.

'To ensure that such initiatives are sustained, all agencies, organisations, traditional leaders and stakeholders also need to collaborate with one another to ensure that all children are given a chance in life and that girls are not left behind,' she said.

Mr Emmanuel Aryee, the Chief Executive Officer of Prudential Life Insurance, said aside academic work, the project also aimed at empowering the beneficiaries and increasing their confidence through financial literacy mentoring programme through the expertise of their staff.

He said modules under the mentorship sessions were income and budgeting, savings and investment, and banking and insurance.

Mr Joe Appiah, Business Development Manager of Plan International Ghana, said over the past two decades the organisation had supported education in the country at both the primary, junior and senior high levels.

He said Plan International currently works in over 600 communities in nine out of the 10 regions of Ghana in the education, health, child protection and economic empowerment programmes to reach over one million children.

Neenyi Ghartey VII, Omanhen of Efutu Traditional Area, commended Plan International and Prudential Life Insurance for coming to the aid of brilliant but needy students.

He said the scholarship package should be extended to cover three private senior high schools in the Efutu Municipality.

Mrs Rose Abbiw, the Public Relations Officer of the Efutu Municipal Education Office, said the project would go a long way to bring smiles to the otherwise frustrated families and restore hope to many senior high school students.

GNA