COCOBOD Scholarships to be channeled into funding model schools

Funds from the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) will be channelled into the building of model schools in cocoa-growing communities, Mr Fiifi Boafo, Senior Public Affairs Manager of the COCOBOD has disclosed.

The COCOBOD Scholarships Scheme served as a source of educational support for children of cocoa farmers in the country.

However, Mr Boafo said the decision had become necessary because the implementation of the Free Senior High School policy had ensured that children of cocoa farmers had access to education.

"With the implementation of the Government’s Free Senior High School (SHS), it has now become significant to re-invest the funds that are set aside for the COCOBOD scholarship to build model schools to improve the standard of education in the communities", Mr Boafo said.

This, he said, had the potential to bridge the learning gap between students in the rural and urban areas.

Mr Boafo who was speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) indicated that part of the funds from the scholarship scheme had been set aside to finance the tertiary education of brilliant, but needy students of cocoa farmers and the new focus of the scholarship scheme would go a long way to enable students in the deprived communities to compete with those in the urban communities.

“Some of the children in the cocoa farming communities do not have access to the right facilities to enhance teaching and learning.

“Children in remote areas who walk about five kilometres, just to access education in other towns are likely to give up education because of the stress it comes with.”

Mr Boafo added that the decision would make education more accessible and stress-free and expressed the optimism that the decision would motivate children to enjoy schooling to become better people in their communities and to serve as role models to others.