MTN Ghana has awarded scholarships to 500 tertiary students and teachers pursuing science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), as well as vocational and technical programmes.
The awards comprised scholarships for 300 tertiary students and 200 teachers pursuing degrees in relevant fields.
The event took place in Accra yesterday, under the MTN Bright Scholarship Scheme.
Each scholarship covers tuition, accommodation, a laptop and stipend.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MTN Ghana, Stephen Blewett, said the programme received 5,194 applications, of which 1,200 applicants were interviewed, out of which 500, including 14 persons with disability, were selected.
The initiative formed part of activities marking MTN Ghana’s 30th anniversary.
Objective
Mr Blewett said the initiative was aimed at protecting talented young people from being denied the opportunity to complete their education.
He said the scheme had so far supported 1,220 beneficiaries, including 17 valedictorians or best students, and 299 first-class graduates since its introduction in 2018.
A further 47 beneficiaries graduated with second-class upper honours, while 16 obtained second-class lower honours.
'The programme has helped beneficiaries overcome financial barriers to pursue their academic ambitions," the CEO added.
Mr Blewett urged the new beneficiaries to take their studies seriously, use technology responsibly and apply their knowledge to solve problems in their respective communities.
He also encouraged awardee teachers to apply the knowledge gained to improve teaching and learning in classrooms.
Abuses in schools
Mr Blewett also announced MTN Ghana’s commitment to support and publicise a hotline being established by the Ministry of Education to enable students, parents and other stakeholders to report abuses in schools directly to the ministry.
He said the company had agreed to support the initiative following discussions with the Deputy Minister of Education, Dr Clement Apaak.
The hotline is intended to provide an alternative reporting channel for cases in which complaints made through existing education structures failed to receive the necessary attention.
Collaboration
For his part, Dr Apaak said the ministry was pursuing the initiative after identifying weaknesses in the reporting chain for alleged abuses in schools.
He said the proposed hotline would allow students, parents and other stakeholders to report cases directly to him or the Education Minister where existing reporting channels had failed.
The minister commended MTN Ghana for supporting education through the scholarship scheme, saying private-sector partnerships were necessary to complement the government’s efforts to expand access to education.
He said the government had allocated GH¢300 million in its 2026 Budget to support continuing scholarship beneficiaries and new local and international scholarship awards.
Dr Apaak entreated other corporate bodies to establish similar initiatives to support students facing financial difficulties.
