The Deputy Minister for Education, Dr Clement Abas Apaak, has underscored the need for stronger collaboration between the government and the private sector to remove financial barriers hindering brilliant but needy students from pursuing higher education.
Speaking on behalf of the Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, at the 2026 MTN Bright Scholarship Awards in Accra, Dr Apaak stressed that state efforts alone cannot address the financial hurdles faced by many young Ghanaians.
“Behind every scholarship awarded today sits a story: a parent who found a way, a teacher who believed, a student who refused to give up,” Dr Apaak noted, commending the MTN Ghana Foundation for its sustained investment in tertiary education.
Highlighting the government’s financial commitment to the sector, the Deputy Minister pointed to the 2025 budget allocation of GH¢42.16 billion to education—including a record GH¢9.1 billion dedicated to basic education.
He added that in the 2026 Budget, the government allocated GH¢300 million to cater for continuing and new local and international scholarship beneficiaries.
To further ease the burden on families, Dr Apaak reiterated the implementation of the No Fee Stress policy, designed to ensure no first-year tertiary student is denied admission due to an inability to pay upfront fees.
“I can confirm that the Honourable Minister is in ongoing discussions with the Minister for Finance to ensure the timely release of funds to our schools, so that parents are not made to pay out of pocket while government’s reimbursements to schools are still pending,” he assured.
Dr Apaak urged more corporate organisations to emulate MTN Ghana and step forward as active partners in nation-building.
Charging the award recipients to make the most of the opportunity, he advised: “Let this scholarship be both your reward and your charge. Stay focused. Stay disciplined… strive to become the leaders, innovators, entrepreneurs, educators, scientists, engineers, healthcare professionals and change-makers this country needs.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
