Izwe Loans Limited, a subsidiary of Izwe Group of Companies, has awarded scholarship to 10 needy students to enable them attain education at the tertiary level.
The lucky 10 students, who were selected out of 400 applicants from Accra and Kumasi, would have the full cost of their university education funded by the firm.
Samuel Yeboah, Head of Corporate Relation of Izwe Loans told the students at a presentation ceremony that the scholarship would be renewed based on their academic performance.
“If they perform well in their academics it would encourage us to do more. Next year we might expand it to other regions and have more applicants.â€
He said this year an amount of GH¢230,000 had been set aside to sponsor the beneficiaries from the company’s GHC1 million Public Sector Tertiary Education Scholarship Fund.
Mahama Ayariga, Deputy Minister of Education in charge of Tertiary Education, said the increase in population had compelled governments to bear the cost of education.
He said allowing private participation in tertiary education would make it easy for everybody to access higher education.
Prof. Kwame Offei, Pro Vice Chancellor of the College of Agriculture and Consumer Sciences, University of Ghana, commended Izwe Loans for giving back to society.
He called on other players in the corporate sector to partner government to help others access education.
Professor Kofi Agyekum, Head of the Linguistics Department at the University of Ghana and Chairman of the Izwe Loan Scholarship Board, spelt out the criteria for selection and said the best were awarded with the scholarships.
He urged the beneficiaries to put the investment to good use by studying hard and helping others who may find themselves in similar situations later when they complete their education and gain employment.
“You have to work hard. Do not go to the university and chill. Make the library your second home. We are expecting first class and second class upper degrees from you.â€
Soccer legend Abedi Ayew Pele, who is a stakeholder of Izwe Loan, said the company’s vision is to contribute to the development of the country’s human resource base for national development.
“When we are able to empower them they can help build society.â€
 By Emelia Ennin Abbey
