Haruna Iddrisu, the Minister for Education, has revealed that the top ten West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) candidates every other year will qualify for President John Mahama’s scholarship.
The sector minister noted that the initiative, originally intended for just three students, but President Mahama requested expansion to ten WASSCE candidates.
According to Haruna Iddrisu, the scholarships will be fully funded through the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund).
The education minister also revealed that a new Scholarship Authority, yet to be established, will manage President Mahama’s scholarship for the top ten WASSCE candidates.
He further emphasised that the selection will be free from any political or external interference, adding that WAEC will maintain full control over determining the recipients based on academic capability.
Speaking at the WAEC Distinction Awards in Accra, Haruna Iddrisu stated, “I have the pleasure of President John Dramani Mahama to announce today that these award winners of three, the President has asked me to expand it to ten awardees”.
“All awardees, the overall best-performing candidates in WASSCE every other year, will be determined solely by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and will qualify for President Mahama’s scholarship,” he added.
He affirmed, “Without any interference from WAEC’s determination of these best students, ten of them will receive the President’s pleasure of continuous support”.
