Northern Scholarship for students won't be scrapped – Scholarship Secretariat

The Scholarship Secretariat has hinted that the scholarship scheme for students in the Northern region will not be scrapped despite the implementation of the free Senior High School programme.

According to the Registrar of the Scholarship Secretariat Kingsley Agyemang, the free SHS policy which will take off next week, does not replace the Northern Scholarship enjoyed by SHS students in the northern region.

He said "As far as the Northern Scholarship is concerned I wish to place on record that continuing students in the second and third years will continue to enjoy their scholarships."

He added that "the introduction of the Free SHS is only coming in as an add-on to rope in other students who hitherto would not have benefitted from Government scholarship."

Mr Kingsley Agyemang addressing the press at a news conference in Tamale said the Northern Scholarship policy would now be valid to only continuing students and would be rescinded in the next two years when the Free High School Policy is fully running.

"The Northern Scholarship was just feeding grants and payment of exams registrations, now, we are going to have a more comprehensive package, so it means that the Northern scholarship after two academic years from now, 2019, and 2018 would give way for the full implementation, mainstream of the Free SHS policy," he added.

Earlier, there were reports in the region that the introduction of free SHS meant the abolishment of the Northern Scholarship for continuing students as well as a central system of procurement, which would require all purchases including foodstuffs to be done from Accra.

But Kingsley Agyemang said the Northern Scholarship would run alongside the Free SHS policy with all students continuing to benefit from the programme.