The Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition (GNECC) says the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) should probe aspects of the Auditor-General’s report on the award of scholarships by the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund).

Of specific interest to the Coalition is the fact that some persons have revealed their applications were rejected by the Fund yet found their names in the list of persons said to have benefited and received financial support to pursue various programmes.

At least two of such individuals - Deputy Agric Minister, Kennedy Osei Nyarko and Hajia Ramana Shareef - have publicly contested their inclusion in the list of beneficiaries.

Mr Osei Nyarko (L) and Ramana Shareef have contested their inclusion in the list of GETFund beneficiaries

The GNECC, following these revelations, in a statement issued March 2, 2020, and signed by Interim Chairman, Joseph Atsu Homadzi, wants the matter investigated further by EOCO “to establish the veracity or otherwise of the claims and the necessary actions taken.”

Supporting brilliant but needy students

The statement also noted that the revelation by the Auditor-General concerning the award of scholarships at the GETFund makes “a mockery of the effort to target needy but brilliant children in their pursuit of education."

According to the Coalition, the evidence of interference in the award of scholarships questions the commitment of the government to target persons who truly qualify to be beneficiaries.

“The revelation also points out the poor oversight role over the operations of the GETFund, leaving it to the whims and caprices of Fund Administrators who confidently disregarded the law. This level of arbitrariness is an indication of weaknesses in the enabling Act of the Fund and calls for its immediate review,” it added.

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