VP Directs Ministry to Review Students' Bursary

Vice-President Aliu Mahama on Thursday directed the Ministry of Education to liaise with the National Scholarship Secretariat to increase the bursary and tertiary grants of university students to meet the present cost of education.

He said inadequate funding for graduate students coupled with poor infrastructure on campus is affecting academic work.

Alhaji Mahama gave the directive after meeting with members of the Graduate Students Association at the State House who complained about insufficient funding especially for project work.

Professor Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi, Minister of Education and Mr. Paul Effah, Executive Secretary of the National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE) attended the meeting.

Alhaji Mahama said the government is concerned about the country's brain drain hence the need to create the enabling conditions to entice university graduates to stay at home to contribute to national development.

Mr Eric Boro, President of the association suggested the need to increase the current bursary of 1,000,000 cedis to 1.5 million and three million cedis for the various categories of graduate students.

He referred to a recommendation by the NCTE in 1998 for the upward review of bursaries to 1.5 million cedis and the equation of bursaries and tertiary grants to the annual salary of new graduate entrant to the Civil Service.

Mr Boro expressed surprise that government was spending 6,000 dollars per graduate student abroad besides tuition fee in 1998 but could not pay enough for those studying locally.

Professor Ameyaw-Akumfi expressed his support for the demands of the graduate students, but said, "the problem is the availability of funds".

He said his ministry is working on this year's budget on education and assured the students that bursaries for postgraduate students would be catered for.

Mr Effah said only 10.6 of the country's student population are graduates and this has compelled the tertiary council to seek World Bank support to create favourable conditions to reverse the situation.