The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has clarified the reasons behind the termination of its long-standing scholarship scheme and the introduction of a new educational initiative.
The board had previously announced the termination of the scholarship scheme, citing the government’s implementation of free senior high school education policy.
In its place, the board has established the Cocoa Board Education Trust, aimed at providing essential primary school infrastructure in underserved cocoa-growing communities.
However, some Ghanaians, according to COCOBOD misinterpreted the move as a failure or collapse of the scholarship scheme.
In a statement on Thursday, May 23, COCOBOD explained that the scholarship scheme was established to support the education of wards of cocoa farmers, but with the introduction of free senior high school education, this scheme was no longer necessary.
Instead, the funds allocated to the scholarship scheme will be used to support education in other ways through the new COCOBOD Education Trust.
The trust, according to COCOBOD aims to provide essential resources and infrastructure for basic schools in cocoa-growing communities, to help the infrastructure gap between schools in deprived areas and those in urban centres.
The trust will also provide resources such as classrooms, libraries, teachers’ bungalows, and other essential facilities to ensure a conducive learning environment for children.
COCOBOD emphasised that the trust is not a termination of its educational support programmes, but rather a diversification of its efforts to better serve evolving educational needs in rural communities.
The Board, therefore, calls on Ghanaians to help in transitioning the system for the enhancement of the system.
Find below the statement by COCOBOD
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