The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has explained to the general public the reason behind the termination of its long standing Scholarship scheme.
The board had previously announced the termination of the scholarship scheme, citing the government’s implementation of free senior high school education policy.
The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) wishes to address and clarify misconceptions
arising from the recent inauguration of the COCOBOD Education Trust.
On Monday, May 20, 2024, the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Mr. Peter Mac
Manu, inaugurated a five-member Board of Trustees for the newly established
COCOBOD Education Trust.
According to the Chairman, the new Trust represents a system designed to utilise funds previously allocated to the Cocoa Scholarship Scheme, which has seen changes in relevance following the introduction of the free Senior High School (SHS) policy in 2017.
Secondly, the Cocoa Scholarship Scheme was established to support wards of cocoa
farmers to pursue secondary education. However, with the introduction of the
free senior high school policy, this scheme is no longer necessary. “The COCOBOD
Education Trust is a new initiative that will utilise the funds allocated to the
scholarship scheme to support education in other ways”, the release added.
The COCOBOD Education Trust is aimed at providing resources and infrastructure
for basic schools in cocoa-growing communities, and to help bridge the
infrastructure gap between schools in deprived areas and those in urban centres.
We understand there are concerns among the public, perceiving this new system
as failure or collapse of the Scholarship Scheme that has supported the
education of many prominent Ghanaians for more than 70 years.
The COCOBOD assures the public that our commitment to supporting education in Ghana remains unwavering. The COCOBOD Education Trust is a new chapter in our efforts to support the education of wards of cocoa farmers, and we are confident that it will make a positive impact in the lives of many.
The COCOBOD Education Trust is therefore not a termination of the Board’s educational support programmes, but to diversify to better serve evolving educational needs in rural communities, including provision of essential facilities such as classrooms, libraries, teachers bungalows, among others, and ensuring a conducive learning environment for children.
The COCOBOD Education Trust is a strategic initiative to build on the successes of the past while introducing innovative methods to meet the evolving needs of our beneficiaries.
We therefore request that the general public continues to support us as we transition to
this enhanced system.
