MultiMedia Group Limited, operators of Joy FM and other radio networks across the country has launched a needy education fund – MGL Educare Trustfund. The fund will provide financial assistance to needy but brilliant students at the Senior High School level from selected schools in the country. For a start, the Company has selected 10 students, from some selected schools who will be provided with GH¢300 each and an undisclosed amount of pocket money every term. Speaking at the launch, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Fund, Rev. Ama Afoh Blay said the institutionalisation of the Fund was in recognition of the fact that many brilliant students hustled with basic needs such as school fees and other necessities while in school. Such students, according her, were very studious and willing to study but were restricted by debilitating poverty. Rev. Afoh Blay decried the poor attitude of students to reading, saying the situation had resulted in poor oral and written English Language and narrow mindedness. “Read outside your specialised area of studies and broaden your knowledge,” she advised. The retired educationist was not also happy with the low level of self-esteem exhibited by students. She said interactions with the beneficiary students, it was realised that many of them lacked self confidence; a situation she said isn’t good enough. She stressed the need for children to be raised in a manner that makes them assertive, calm, confident and humble. The Board Chairman said the performance of the beneficiaries will be monitored to see how they progress. Rev. Afoh Blay advised them to be responsible to their parents despite the scholarship. The Chief Finance Officer of MGL, Mr. Edmund Alottey Pappoe, who spoke on behalf of the CEO of the company Mr. Kwesi Twum, said the fund formed part of the company’s social responsibility. He said MGL aims to contribute to producing a literate society capable of solving its own problems. A Board Member of MGL, Mr. Roland Akosah emphasising the importance of education, said it was the “spark that illuminates the human mind”. “Through education we banish poverty and if you can’t banish it you tame it,” he said. Mr Akosah said producing a literate society was key to enhancing democracy in the country because “liberal democracies never thrive in illiterate societies.” The Deputy Minister of Education, Science and Sports, Mrs Agelina Baiden-Amissah, in a speech read on her behalf commended MGL for the initiative. She urged the beneficiaries to use their time profitably to justify the investments being made by MGL in them. “The youth have forgotten time management and use their study time to indulge in unnecessary conversation at the expense of their books,” she regretted. The first 10 beneficiaries, all of who are second year students, were given their first tranche of money for the term. The schools that benefited from this year’s selection include Methodist High School, Potsin T. I. Ahmadiya, Odorgornor Senior High School and West Africa Secondary School. The rest are Aburi Girls and Ebenezer Senior High Schools. Students who excel stand the chance of being sponsored at the tertiary level. The Fund hopes to robe in about 100 beneficiaries within the next five years. Story by Malik Abass Daabu