GETFund gives 32 billion cedis for students' loans

Jirapa (U/W), Aug 8, GNA - The Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) will support the Students' Loan Scheme with 32 billion cedis next academic year, Mr Fosuaba Mensah Banahene, Administrator of the Fund, said on Thursday.

He said this when he presented a 33-seater bus worth 450 million cedis from the GETFund to Saint Francis Girls Senior Secondary School at Jirapa in the Upper West Region.

Mr Banahene said out of 400 billion cedis expected during the period, 60 percent would go to tertiary institutions, which is an increase over that for last academic year. However, he could not immediately give the percentage of the increase.

To address the problem of shortage of lecturers in the universities, 28.8 billion cedis had been set aside for faculty and research, he said, adding that, the University of Ghana would receive the highest amount of 30.8 billion cedis from the fund. The GETFund Administrator said the Board of Trustees had approved 25 billion cedis for the construction of one dormitory block each for the 25 girls senior secondary schools over a three-year period. He expressed the disappointment of the Board that the school's dormitory block had not been awarded on contract even though money for the construction was ready.

"I was expecting to inspect the progress of work of the building today, but to my surprise, nothing is on the ground," he said. Mr Banahene said funds had been allocated the construction of a library block for the school.

Mr Stephen Engmen, Special Assistant to the Upper West Regional Minister, said the GETFund was financing the construction of 26 classroom blocks in the region with nine billion cedis and commended the Board of Trustees for their good work.

The Most Reverend Paul Bemile, Catholic Bishop of Wa, appealed to the school authorities and the driver to take good care of the bus.