Unilever to Back Education Development With ?800m

In their bid to support quality education in the country, the Trustees of the Unilever Ghana Foundation for Education and Development is to invest ?800million cedis next year in the form of scholarships and grants to institutions of higher learning for research in some fundamental disciplines, including Medicine, to assist in bringing out the necessary inventions for the country.

This was made known by Mr Andrew Quayson, Chairman of Trustees, Unilever Ghana Foundation for Education and Development, when presenting ?30million scholarship award package to undergraduates in Accra last week at Unilever Training Centre.

According to him, Unilever Foundation has a strong commitment to contributing in moulding the human resource development in the country that is why it launched the scheme in December 1999.

He said since the inception of the scheme, the Foundation has awarded scholarships to 60 SSS students, sponsored two postgraduate students to UK Universities, given recognition to 23 graduating students and trained 25 small scale entrepreneurs as well as donation of three fully equipped Ambulances to three rural clinics in the three Northern regions.

He also disclosed that the foundation, by the end of the year, would have spent a total sum of ?860million on education, health and development support in the country.

Without mincing his words, Quayson explained that quality education is necessary for the development of the country, but the realisation of this needs large sums of money which cannot be shouldered by the government alone.

He added "it's about time for active alumni participation in seeking funds for the running of the institutions as it is done in the advanced countries."

Our nation will not get to where others in South East Asia who once had the same or even lower per capita income as Ghana, if we as individuals and as corporate citizens do not give quality education the necessary push by contributing to its funding and development, he asserted.