Government to establish Ghana Scholarships Authority to improve scholarship administration

The Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has said the government is working to improve transparency in the administration of scholarships through the establishment of the Ghana Scholarships Authority.

He said the new authority would ensure that scholarship administration is handled in accordance with the law and would no longer be solely managed by the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund).

Mr Iddrisu made the statement at Paga in the Upper East Region when President John Dramani Mahama visited the area to commission an E Block facility at Paga Senior High School.

He said the government would also ensure that Paga Senior High School became a full boarding institution from the 2027 academic year as part of efforts to expand access to secondary education and address infrastructure challenges facing schools.

“Schools would receive additional infrastructure to support their transition into a full boarding institution serving students from Paga and surrounding communities,” he said.

He explained that the expansion was necessary because many senior high schools had recorded sharp increases in enrolment in recent years. He said schools that previously had populations of about 1,800 students now had between 3,800 and 4,000 students.

According to him, the government would ensure that infrastructure development preceded the expansion of boarding arrangements at Paga Senior High School.

He said Paga Senior High School would also benefit from the STAR J programme, a World Bank-funded initiative aimed at expanding access to secondary education.

He noted that several schools in the Upper East Region would benefit from the programme, including Paga Senior High School, Bolgatanga Central Technical Institute, Gambigo Community Day Senior High School, Binduri Community Senior High School and Garu Community Day Senior High School.

The Minister further said GETFund would be requested to make provision in its 2027 budget for the construction of boarding facilities for boys and girls at Paga Senior High School.

He also announced plans to expand access to medical education through the University for Science and Technology and Applied Sciences, in line with President Mahama’s plans to increase opportunities for students seeking medical training.

On feeding in senior high schools, Mr Iddrisu said government has provided additional funding to GETFund to ensure adequate food supplies and prevent disruptions to the academic calendar and directed that classrooms should not be converted into storage facilities for food supplies.

Mr Iddrisu also disclosed that President Mahama had directed the Ministers for Finance, Energy and Education to finalise funding arrangements for the establishment of the proposed GETFund arrangement by January 2027, after which the relevant bill would be presented to Parliament.

He said the measures formed part of the government’s broader efforts to improve access to quality secondary education and provide schools with the infrastructure needed to support growing enrolment.