The Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) Secretariat has parried claims by the Auditor General’s Department that its selection processes for scholarship award were non-structured, unfair, dominated by one person and porous.

In a lengthy response to the claims by the performance audit report by the Auditor-General on the administration of scholarships by GETFund, the GETFund Secretariat explains that there is a selection criteria set out by the Education Sub-Committee of the Board of Trustees and approved by the Board.

The Secretariat outlined the following processes as among the robust criteria for awarding scholarships:

“1. A panel is constituted including members of the Education Subcommittee of the Board of Trustees for the interviewing of selected applicants from 2019/2020 academic year.

2. All applications are scrutinised;

3. Successful applications were then given final approval by management; 4. Payment is made equitably to all students;

5. Payments to beneficiaries are done through the Banks;

6. A transfer request is made supported by a list of Institutions and beneficiaries for payment,” the Secretariat said in the response to the audit report.

It adds that the Board has kept close monitoring of all activities of the GETFund.

“It is for this reason the Board Sub Committee on Education has overseen the setting of the selection criteria and approved by the Board. It is therefore untrue to conclude that the entire process is dominated by one person resulting in unqualified applicants benefiting from the scholarships awarded at GETFund,” the Secretariat added.

Read the full response by the GETFund Secretariat below.