Hungary doubles scholarships for Ghanaian students to 100

Hungary, as part of its commitment to support education, has increased the annual number of scholarships for Ghanaian students from 50 to 100, effective September 2020.

Mr Andras Szabo, the Hungarian Ambassador to Ghana, announced this, on Friday, when he signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Education Minister Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, to formalise the scholarship scheme on behalf of their countries.

The grant package covers the payment of accommodation, full tuition, feeding and monthly stipends.

The initiative is to provide educational opportunities to the students to acquire special skills and knowledge to contribute meaningfully to Ghana’s socio-economic development.

Ambassador Szabo said Hungary was committed to supporting the 'Ghana Beyond Aid' agenda, while exploring ways of cooperation for mutual benefits, especially for supporting the poor in society.

Hungary, the Ambassador said, was of the view that empowering the youth with the needed educational foundation and setting up social programmes for their livelihoods would liberate them from their poor state to a more befitting life.

"We want to improve skills in Technology and help in other sectors of the economy including; Agriculture and Engineering so that the beneficiaries will utilise them in their various communities and to prevent rural-urban migration and migration to other countries".

Dr Prempeh commended the contribution of Hungary towards upgrading the knowledge of Ghanaian and other African students to attain higher education to facilitate national development.

Ghana and Hungary, he said, had had a long-standing relationship over the years for capacity building.

He encouraged Ghanaians to take advantage of the opportunity and maximise the full benefits of the scholarship scheme for their growth.

Ghana and Hungary signed the Education Cooperation Agreement in 2016, which guaranteed at least 50 scholarships each year for Ghanaian students to study in Hungary.

Hungary officially re-opened its diplomatic mission in Ghana in April 2016, after it was closed in 1987 due to financial constraints, which followed the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The first Embassy was opened in Accra in 1961.