Stephen Koomson, a 21-year-old Senior High School graduate who resorted to illegal mining [galamsey] due to financial constraints, has been offered a full scholarship by the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC).
Koomson attended Mpohor Senior High School and had 5As and 3Bs in the 2021 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
The SHS graduate had dreams of training to become a lawyer, but he had to go into galamsey due to financial difficulties.
The story went viral, and the GNPC offered him a full scholarship.
In a statement, the foundation said ”From shattered dreams of endless possibilities to finding his hopes restored and aspirations rekindled, the story of Stephen Koomson, the brilliant 21-year-old former student of Mpohor Senior High School in the Western Region who, for financial constraints, resorted to illegal mining (Galamsey) instead of furthering his education, has been granted a full educational scholarship by the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) to study Law at the University of Ghana.
Koomson, whose plight caught the attention of GNPC when his story went viral on social media, recorded an impressive 5As and 3Bs across various subjects in the 2021 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) but has since had his education curtailed by the lack of support and this, according to him, led to his involvement in small-scale illegal mining (Galamsey).
Dr. Dominic Eduah, Executive Director of the GNPC Foundation, described Stephen’s situation as a “unfortunate situation deserving immediate attention” during a brief meeting with the former Mpohor SHS student and his guardians, and thus the GNPC’s decision to intervene.
“We are enrolling him on the GNPC scholarship immediately to put his dreams of becoming a lawyer back on track and we are just as excited to offer him an opportunity to facilitate this in consonance with the tenets of our Education & Training mandate,” he said.
According to the GNPC, it will collaborate with other stakeholders to ensure that Koomson is admitted to the University of Ghana to study law next year.
The young SHS graduate, for his part, expressed his heartfelt appreciation to GNPC for taking action on his story.
He assured the foundation that he would continue to study and be a worthy ambassador for GNPC.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
