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The Lebanese Community Scholarship Programme has awarded scholarships to 12 students of the Faculty of Law of the University of Ghana.
The gesture comes on the 10th anniversary of the scholarship scheme.
The short ceremony was held in the presence of the Provost of the College of Humanities of the university, Professor Daniel Ofori; the Lebanese Ambassador, Maher Kheir; the Dean of the Law Faculty, Professor Raymond Atuguba, and representatives from the Lebanese community in Ghana.
Mr Kheir described Lebanon as a pioneer in legal education, and said it was why the community was inspired to support law students at the faculty.
He stated: “It is interesting to note that the world’s first university of Law was built in Lebanon’s capital, Beirut.”
Mr Kheir stressed that societies thrived on the strength of Law, hence the Lebanese community in Ghana attached importance to it.
He stated that Lebanese presence in Ghana for more than 100 years had made them consider themselves as Ghanaians of Lebanese background, adding that “they have become partners for development”.
Law, he observed, was the foundation on which any society could grow.
“Law is the foundation of any human society.
We cannot exist, grow or advance without it.
Law is the heartbeat of human life; without it, it will be a lawless society, and chaos will rule,” he added.
He challenged the beneficiaries to uphold the tenets of the legal profession as they journeyed through their education, saying “I urge you to uphold the law you practice”.
Prof. Ofori noted that the community’s commitment to the scheme for over 10 years was worth commending.
“The Lebanese people in Ghana have really done a good job of sponsoring our students since 2013.
This is worth commending,” he said.
Prof. Raymond Atuguba thanked the sponsors for standing by the school and students each year.
He, however, urged the Lebanese community to increase the number of beneficiary students, the amount and the scope of the scholarship.
“Currently, there are about 2,100 at the faculty compared to the 400 we had at the inception of the scholarship.
So we’re asking you to consider increasing the number, amount and scope to include other needy students as well,” he stated.
He congratulated the students for the hardwork which earned them the scholarships.
“Your dedication and commitment to academic excellence has not gone unnoticed.
Continue to strive for excellence because your hard work will take you far,” he said.
A beneficiary, Richard Adjei Kyeremanteng, said the scholarship would ease the financial burden on their families and boost academic performance exponentially.
Since 2013, the Lebanese Community Scholarship Programme has supported more than 400 students from the Ghana Institute of Journalism, the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and the University of Ghana.
The School of Languages and the School of Performing Arts were recently added to the scheme.
