By:Isaac Amoah/tntnewspapergh.com
The Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr. Simon Osei-Mensah, has heaped praises on MTN Ghana Foundation for its unwavering commitment to the provision of quality education in the country.
According to the Minister, MTN Foundation’s commitment and investment in education is unmatched in the telecommunication industry. He, therefore, urged other companies to emulate MTN’s lead in investment in education in line with the government private partnership in the provision of quality education to all.
The Minister made the remarks in a speech delivered on his behalf by Mr. Abraham Kwame Antwi, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Oforikrom, on Friday, 20th September 2024, at the Faculty of Law, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) during the second batch of this year’s MTN Bright Scholarship awards.
Some scenes from the event
Mr. Osei-Mensah encouraged MTN Ghana Foundation not to relent in its efforts in supporting the provision of education, especially for the underprivileged in the Ghanaian society.
He also used the opportunity to advise the awardees to take their studies seriously to justify the investment made in them.
The MTN Bright Scholarship is a flagship initiative by MTN Ghana Foundation aimed at easing the financial burden on brilliant and needy students. The scholarship covers tuition, accommodation, provision of semesterly stipends, and a laptop.
Some of the awardees displaying the items given to them.
On his part, Dr. Gordon Sabotey, a member of the MTN Bright Scholarship panel, revealed that
they received more than 1,500 applications. They shortlisted 400 applications for interviews and finally selected 200 for this year’s awards.
The panel member disclosed that the first batch of 100 awardees were given their awards in Accra, while the second batch of the remaining 100 beneficiaries received theirs in Kumasi.
He said to ensure fair representation, the panel considered all the public universities across the 16 regions, gender and persons with disabilities, among other factors, in the selection process.
Mr. Kuzoe Robert, Senior Manager of MTN Foundation, in an interview with the media, explained that the scholarship considered students studying Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) courses.
According to him, out of 200 awardees this year, 20 awardees were persons with disabilities.
Mr. Kuzoe disclosed that since the inception of MTN Foundation Bright Scholarship awards, 520 students across the 16 regions had benefited.
The Senior Manager said the foundation would continue to invest in education because the power of education to national development cannot be underestimated.
He said despite the benefits of education, many still find it difficult to continue their education due to financial difficulties. He cited many studies to buttress his points and gave an assurance that MTN Ghana Foundation would continue to support in that direction to help lessen the financial burden on students and their parents.
Mr. Kuzoe said MTN Bright Scholarship was instituted in 2018 with the initial target to award 100 students annually, but due to the high numbers of applicants year in year out, they decided to expand it to the current coverage of 200 students annually.
He said the scholarship was designed for year one undergraduate students and continuing students at any public higher institution in Ghana.
The MTN Ghana Scholarship covers the cost of tuition, accommodation, research devices and stipends for reading materials.
A number of the awardees couldn’t hide their excitement and praises to MTN Ghana Foundation. They described MTN Ghana Foundation Bright Scholarship award as a God-sent.
They commended the leadership of the foundation for the laudable intervention and prayed for the continued growth of the company in order for it to do more for the needy.
