Peter Mac Manu (M), Dr. Ernest Addison (3rd right) with other board members and management of COCOBOD
The Ghana Cocoa Board Scholarship Scheme, which was founded over 50 years ago to fund the education of cocoa farmers’ children in the Senior High School (SHS) level, has been discontinued.
Deputy Chief Executive of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), in charge of Finance and Administration, Emmanuel Ray Ankrah, announced this at the inauguration of the Board members for the Cocoa Board Education Trust at its headquarters in Accra.
He said the new Trust will focus on providing basic model schools in deprived cocoa growing communities.
He stated that the decision to discontinue the cocoa scholarship scheme was made after extensive consultation with stakeholders following the introduction of the Free Senior High School policy in 2017 by the NPP government.
Mr. Ankrah named the stakeholders as Members of Parliament, members of the Council ofState, Ghana Education Service, Cocoa Farmer Associations, and other relevant institutions.
According to him, the new Cocoa Education Trust’s model schools will help to bridge the educational infrastructural gap between children in rural communities and their counterparts in cities, as well as facilitate access to basic quality education in cocoa areas.
He was hopeful that the members of the Board, who have experiences in diverse areas, would deliver on their mandate as expected.
The six-member Board of Trustees include Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison (Chairman), Director General of the Ghana Education Service, Dr. Eric Nkansah, and the 2022 National Best Cocoa farmer, Bismarck Fuachie.
The rest are Deputy CEO in charge of operations at COCOBOD, Emmanuel Opoku, and Director Legal and Solicitor Secretary at COCOBOD, Francis Opoku.
The Board Chairman of COCOBOD, Peter Mac Manu, said the trust is a testament of COCOBOD’s unwavering commitment to the well-being and prosperity of cocoa farmers and their children.
He, also, stated that the Cocoa Education Trust would focus on building necessary primary school facilities in underserved cocoa-growing regions, as well as continued investment in the communities’ educational foundations, which will have a long-term impact for future generations.
Dr. Ernest Addison, Board Chairman of the COCOBOD Education Trust, on behalf of the board members, thanked COCOBOD management for their trust in them and promised to work to ensure that the Cocoa Education Trust has a meaningful impact on the lives of cocoa farmers and their children.
By Ebenezer K. Amponsah