Expensive education for "The Rawlingses'"

All the four children of Mr and Mrs Rawlings, Ghana’s immediate past First Family are currently schooling in very expensive elitist colleges in England and the Republic of Ireland. The four, Ezenator, the eldest, Yaa Asantewaa, Amina and Kimathi in succession left the shores of Ghana for overseas education over a period of two years (1998-2000) in the latter days of the Rawlings presidency.

Ezenator and Yaa Asantewaa are students in Dublin, Republic of Ireland. The former is a final year student at the School of Medicine, Royal College of Surgeons, Dublin, Ireland. She is currently doing her clinical at Beaumont Hospital, Beaumont Road, Dublin.

The Crusading Guide’s discreet checks at the college revealed that tuition fees payable by foreign students, including Ezenator is 15,000 pounds sterling a year. The annual tuition fees, sources intimated, is subject to increases between the range of 5-7 per cent per annum. She has been in the College since early 1999.

Yaa Asantewaa Agyeman-Rawlings, according to investigations, is a third year Economics and Social Studies student at Trinity College, University of Dublin. She enrolled at the College in September 1999, and is pursuing a four-year course leading to the award of a BA in Social Studies. The tuition fees payable by all foreign students including Yaa Asantewaa is 7,517 pounds sterling a year.

The Crusading Guide’s investigations also revealed that Amina and Kimathi, both based in England, attend the elitist Millfield School in England, as full time fee-paying boarding students. This began in September 2000. A scrutiny of Millfield school official records by UK scouts of the paper showed that the current levels of annual tuition and boarding fees charged at the school are 15,360 pounds for boarders and 6,705 pounds for day students. The fees are paid in advance.

Amina, according to the search, joined the school as a full time boarding pupil in September 2000 on a two-year Advanced level course. She is scheduled to complete the course and examination in June 2002. Kimathi on his part, joined the prestigious elitist school as a full time pupil in September 2000, in the Third Form. He is expected to complete his course in July 2003.

The above information raises serious questions about how “the Rawlingses” have been financing the “expensive education” of their children abroad. Mrs Rawlings has gone on record about two or three times to say that some “good Samaritan” friends of theirs have been footing the bill on their behalf.

Interestingly, that has been the same answer provided by most (P)NDC Minister functionaries whose children are schooling abroad. Information gathered by the paper indicates however, that some ex-ministers’ children are indeed on scholarships. Hon Dan Abodakpi, former Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, early this year told a Court of Law the same ‘cock and bull’ story but strangely he did not know how much his daughter’s school fees was. Apparently, he had not bothered to find out how much his “good Samaritan” friend was paying on his behalf.

Meanwhile, The Crusading Guide is following some leads in connection with the identities and interests of the “good Samaritan friends of ‘the Rawlings.”