HESS-GNPC award scholarship to 125 SHS students in W/R

One hundred and twenty-five students have become beneficiaries of the HESS Ghana Exploration (HESS) -Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) Scholarship Programme to enable them to further their education at the senior high school level.

The scholarship awards bring the total number of beneficiaries in six costal districts, hosting the country’s oil and gas activities, to 646 since the inception of the programme in 2012.

Following the government’s Free SHS policy which commenced this year, the HESS-GNPC Scholarship Programme will cover the cost of boarding, books, academic materials and kits of the beneficiaries.

Speaking at the presentation of the awards in Takoradi, Mr Emmanuel Asmah, a Finance Manager of HESS Ghana Exploration, said in addition to the scholarship, the beneficiaries would also receive termly stipend throughout the duration of their three-year programme

 The districts

Nana Kobina Nketsia, the Paramount Chief of EssikadoTraditional Area, presenting an award to a first year student of Sekondi Nurses and Midwifery Training College

Initially, the HESS-GNPC Scholarship Programme benefitted three Nzema districts in the Western Region, but has been expanded to cover all the six coastal districts, municipal and metropolitan assemblies.

The beneficiaries of this year’s scholarship are from Shama, Ahanta West, Ellembelle, Jomoro districts and Sekondi/Takoradi/Metropolitan Assembly and Nzema East municipality.

Mr Ashmah said “the expansion was necessitated by the overall success and overwhelming positive response received from our partner communities.”

The Sustainability Manager of GNPC, Dr Patrick Kweku Ofori, said the beneficiaries were decided after an extensive needs assessment in the six coastal districts of the Western Region, which were the operational areas of the HESS Ghana Exploration and GNPC.

For her part, the Deputy Western Regional Minister, Mrs Gifty E. Kusi, commended the HESS and GNPC for the initiative and said it was a great effort at complementing government’s effort at ensuring every Ghanaian child was educated.

Background

HESS Ghana Exploration is one of the international oil companies operating in Ghana, engaged in the exploration and production of oil and natural gas.
As part of their social investment programme, the two companies, HESS and GNPC instituted the scholarship programme in 2012 for  the six coastal districts.