If assented to by the President, the Act would usher in a new era in the administration of government scholarships, with a view to eliminating political patronage, corruption, cronyism and nepotism in the award of government scholarships.

Fairness

Moving the motion ahead of the passage of the bill, the Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, emphasised that the Act would guarantee fairness in the awarding of scholarships to individuals who genuinely needed them.

He said the legislation would eliminate favouritism and political influence in the scholarship process, while creating a transparent system that prioritised merit and need.

“I believe that the establishment of the Ghana Scholarship Authority will streamline the administration of scholarships and make it accessible to students from disadvantaged backgrounds,” the minister added.

He further said that the authority would be tasked with establishing clear eligibility criteria and monitoring compliance, while ensuring accountability for the use of public funds allocated to education support. 

Background

The Ghana Scholarships Secretariat was established in 1960 by a Presidential fiat, with the primary responsibility of administering scholarships to eligible citizens in line with the government's national manpower development policy.

Over the years, the secretariat had faced many challenges in carrying out its functions.

One of the major challenges was the lack of a legislative framework to guide the secretariat's operations. 

Their operations were guided or regulated by conventions and decisions of the secretariat's management, some of which led to legal challenges.

In a debate on reforms to the secretariat, Parliament discussed the need to introduce a bill to regulate scholarship administration in the country.

Furthermore, the multiplicity of public institutions that handle or award scholarships without collaborating with the secretariat was a challenge that affected the secretariat's effectiveness and efficiency in performing its functions.

It affected the secretariat's responsibility to report fully and accurately to the government and other stakeholders on all scholarships awarded by public institutions in the country.

In its quest to address these challenges and in fulfilment of its manifesto promise, the government sought to enact legislation to create a new scholarship regime that streamlines the administration of government scholarships transparently and equitably, re-align and coordinate scholarships in the public sector and usher in a new era for the administration of government scholarships with the view to eliminating political patronage, corruption, cronyism and nepotism in the award of government scholarships.