Government efforts towards education; 10,400 students benefit from SEIP

The Education Ministry has presented scholarship packages to 857 selected students from the Ashanti, Brong Ahafo and Western regions under the Secondary Education Improvement Project (SEIP).

The project is aimed at increasing access with equity in senior high schools in underserved districts and improving quality in low performing senior high schools in the country.

The World Bank funded programmed which was launched by President John Dramani Mahama (2014) last year will also provide scholarship packages for 10,400 students from low income families made up of 6400 girls and 4000 boys over the project cycle.

339 beneficiaries from the Ashanti region have been enrolled on the programme, 311 from the Brong Ahafo and 207 from the Western regions.

The package will cater for relevant approved school fees, transport to schools, uniforms, house dress, PE kit, shoes and bags and other relevant stationeries.

Each of the beneficiaries will be entitled to an amount of $500.00 per annum for the three year period.

A total number of 2,300 students have been selected to benefit from the scheme for the 2014/15 academic year.

According to the Ministry, the criteria for the selection of beneficiaries include, an orphan without support, a student who caters for himself as well as disabled student without support. Others are students in a household with income below the minimum wage, students from LEAP beneficiary household, a student with sickle cell disease.

Other students who fall under the criteria include those from single parent family with a low income, those whose parents are living with disability or serious illness and a teenage mother without support and willing to go back to school.

Other students will be considered depending on the availability of funds.

At a presentation ceremony in the Ashanti region, deputy Minister of Education in-charge of Basic Education, Alex Kyeremeh indicated that the ministry will ensure the scheme is implemented in a very open and transparent manner.

“Ghana’s education system still remains strong despite our challenges and Government will continue to implement measures to further improve education management services delivery and improve access and quality at all levels,” he emphasized.

He also stressed that the project was not meant for the buying of sanitary pad for school girls as it was been circulated in various media platforms.

Some of the beneficiaries who shared touching stories about their lives indicated that the scholarship will help them attain the best of education.

Government early this year (2015) in its budget and economic policy statement made provision to pay school fees for about 367,565 day students in senior high schools starting from 2015/16 academic year.

The Ministry has set up an implementation committee to facilitate the roll out of the programme, when schools reopen in September.

Students under the SEIP scholarships will not be eligible for the relief under the progressively free scheme.