GNPC awards scholarship to SHS graduate with 7A1s to continue education
The Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) has awarded a full scholarship to Ms Gifty Ama Djabanor, the 22-year-old senior high school (SHS) graduate who had financial challenges to continue her education after passing her West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) with flying colours.
The sponsorship package covers tuition fees, living expenses, book allowance and dissertation/project allowance.
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The August 23 issue of the Daily Graphic this year drew attention to the plight of Miss Djabanor who studied General Science in SHS, scored 7A1s and a B3 but was unable to continue her education due to her family’s financial distress.
SHS graduate with 7A1s unable to further education appeals for assistance
UCC offers admission
Miss Djabanor, who did not apply to go to the University of Cape Coast (UCC) due to financial difficulties, gained the admission through the intervention of the Provost of the College of Humanities and Legal Studies of the university, Prof. Dora Edu-Buandoh.
She was given admission by the university to read Biomedical Science and was among hundreds of students of the university who were matriculated on Saturday, September 29.
Gifty’s plight
Gifty’s dream was to become a medical doctor but with financial distress staring her in the face, she opted for nursing in order to get nurses’ allowance to cushion her. However, her mother could not afford the cost of nursing training college although she gained admission to the Atibie Nursing Training College.
The GNPC said its attention was drawn to the Daily Graphic’s publication on Gifty's situation of how a brilliant girl was losing her desired dream of becoming a medical doctor due to the inability of her parents to finance her education.
Touched
The CEO of the GNPC, Dr K.K. Sarpong, said he was so touched by the story and directed the board of trustees of the foundation to see how best they could help Gifty realise her dream.
He said as one of the three pillars of the GNPC Foundation was education and training, “we offer scholarships to Ghanaian students who have gained admission to any of the public tertiary institutions to study Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects, as well as Special Needs Education”.
Last year, the foundation offered scholarships to about 1,000 students, and this year, 600 students were selected to benefit from the all-expense-paid package.
An excited Gifty expressed gratitude to the university and GNPC and promised to work hard to justify the confidence reposed in her.
Talent
Prof. Edu-Buandoh who was instrumental in getting Gifty admission into UCC, said: “When l saw Gifty’s story on www.graphic.com.gh, I just thought that we cannot let this talent go waste and that somebody should help her.”
She, therefore, urged the media to balance the political reportage with social issues so that a lot more lives could be touched with their reportage.
She said she contacted the university’s Director of Academic Affairs and told him about Gifty’s story.
“I felt that when I speak to the university, it will help and my position as a Provost also helped me because the Director of Academic Affairs understood where I was coming from.