A student (R) receiving a cheque from the MP
The Member of Parliament for the Tolon Constituency, Alhaji Habib Iddrisu, has presented checks and cash to 500 students to pay their school fees. A total of six hundred thousand Ghana cedis (GHS 600,000) was disbursed to the students drawn from across the constituency.
The 500 beneficiaries, comprising tertiary students, came from various educational institutions across the country.
The support came under the Soyalana Educational Fund, which was established in 2021 by the Tolon MP to address the challenges of educational infrastructure and development in the constituency.
The Soyalana Educational Fund has so far provided support to 1,024 needy students in various sectors of education, including school fees and scholarships.
Again, the Soyalana Educational Fund this year sponsored 10 people to pursue their education abroad.
According to the Tolon MP, education is the surest way to bring the needed development to the area, saying he understands what parents are going through with regard to school fees.
"My mother sold her clothes to ensure that I attained tertiary education. So I know what both students and parents are going through in relation to school fees," he said.
Iddrisu hinted that the administrators of the Soyalana Educational Fund received 500 applications this year.
"I am elated with the number of students who applied for the Soyalana Educational Fund this year," he said.
He emphasized that the fund is a non-partisan educational fund that seeks to support needy students in the constituency.
"No applicant was asked to bring an NPP membership card before his or her application would be accepted. The fund is for the people of the Tolon Constituency and will support anyone, irrespective of their political affiliation. In fact, all 500 applicants are receiving their support today," he noted.
The Tolon MP announced that he will soon cut sod for the construction of a Teacher Training College or Nursing and Midwifery Training College for the constituency, reiterating that "we want to have all these training institutions here so that our brothers and sisters, after completing senior high school, will continue their education in the constituency."
The First Deputy Majority Chief Whip said he has constructed a number of schools in almost every corner of the constituency to enhance access and quality of education, adding that education remains his number one priority and that he will continue to support the educational sector in the constituency.
He stated that the Tolon Constituency is currently benefiting from the Ghana STEM Schools project.
"The STEM School is under construction in Nyankpala; it is a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics school that will train our youth in global evolving economic trends. Our youth will be trained in skills and innovation development, ready for today's global market."
He urged the beneficiaries of the fund to take their studies seriously and attain academic excellence for the greater benefit of the entire Tolon Constituency.
The MP for Tolon, however, bemoaned the number of girls who dropped out of school and went to the southern sector for greener pastures but insisted education would attract them back home.
Yakubu Hadija, a nursing student from Nalerigu Nursing and a beneficiary of the Soyalana Educational Fund, thanked the Tolon MP for the gesture.
According to her, she almost dropped out of school because she couldn't afford the school fees.
