Vodafone launches scholarship for female students

Vodafone Ghana has launched the second edition of its scholarship initiative, which gives full scholarship to needy but brilliant female students pursuing Mathematics and Science at the Senior High School (SHS) level.

Speaking at the launch in Accra, Mrs Stella Agyenim-Boateng, Director of Human Resource at Vodafone, said the initiative was meant to encourage more female students to take up courses related to Science, Technology and Mathematics.

She said: "It is also to help smoothen the path of female students pursuing Science-related courses and whip up their interest to venture into Engineering, Technology and other related courses at the tertiary levels.

There is a male dominance with respect to the study of Science, Mathematics, Engineering and Technology-related courses, and we want to bridge that gap by assisting the females with some financial support for them to pursue those courses.”

Mrs Agyenim-Boateng stated that girls most often dropped out of school due to lack of finance and role models, explaining that the package by the telecommunication giant was, therefore, to help solve such problems.

She explained that the three-year scholarship would include tuition and boarding fees, as well as the Ghana Education Service approved text books, uniforms, sandals, some stipend and other stationary for beneficiaries.

She noted that beneficiary students would be required to continue excelling at school as well as exhibiting good conduct to continue enjoying the scholarship.

Mrs Agyenim-Boateng gave the assurance that Vodafone would continue to support education and urged other companies to emulate them.

One hundred female students pursuing Science at the SHS across the country are already being supported by Vodafone in the first edition of the scholarship programme.

Other beneficiaries include 10 female teacher-trainees pursuing Mathematics and Science and 10 female students at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology pursuing engineering programmes.

Mr Samuel Gyedu-Brefo, the Project Manager at the Vodafone Ghana Foundation, explained that all female candidates who would be writing the Basic Education Certificate Examination in June, were eligible to apply for the scholarship.

He said the applicant must, however, have interest in reading Mathematics and Science at the SHS level.

He announced that application forms were currently available at all Vodafone offices across the country and they could also be accessed online, but the deadline for the submission of the application is June 29.