George Opare Addo is the Minister of Youth Development and Empowerment
The Minister for Youth Development and Empowerment, George Opare Addo, has disclosed that the government is working towards a centralised scholarship system to streamline the disbursement of state-funded scholarships and eliminate irregularities.
Speaking on PM Express on JoyNews and monitored by GhanaWeb on Tuesday, July 22, 2025, George Opare Addo said the fragmented nature of scholarship administration, where agencies such as the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), the GETFund, and the Scholarship Secretariat all operate separate schemes, has led to abuse and inefficiency.
The minister cited investigations by The Fourth Estate, which revealed how some applicants paid bribes to secure scholarships, likening the system to “selling tomatoes in the market.”
He explained that originally, scholarships were meant for brilliant but needy students or for strategic national interventions, such as training professionals in emerging sectors like the oil and gas industry.
According to him, the proposed reform seeks to pool all funds allocated to scholarships, whether from GNPC, GETFund, or any other public source, into one consolidated fund, to be managed by a legally mandated authority.
He emphasised that GNPC and similar state agencies will no longer administer their own scholarship programmes under the new regime.
George Opare Addo said the centralised model will ensure transparency, standardisation, and fairness in the scholarship award process.
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