Oyoko (E/R), July 14, GNA - 160 needy students in the New Juaben Municipality have been granted scholarship bursaries to a tune of 100 Ghana cedis each under the USAID Presidential Africa Education Initiative (AEI) to ensure an increase in enrolment in schools. The package includes school uniforms, sandals, bags, text books and exercise books, registration fees for the final examination and premiums of Mutual Health Insurance Schemes (MHIS) for their parents or guardians.

The beneficiaries, all second year students of Junior High Schools in the municipality were identified as orphans of HIV/AIDS, had disabled parents or came from poor backgrounds.

Mrs Tawiah Agyarko Kwarteng, Programs Officer of Ambassadors Girls Scholarship Program (AGSP), a component of the AEI, said this during a meeting with the guardians and parents of the beneficiaries. She said the project, which was part of the US President's initiative to boost education in Africa currently operated in the Eastern and the three Northern Regions of Ghana and had so far sponsored the education of about 1,000 pupil's through provision of bursaries. Mrs Agyarko-Kwarteng indicated that initially the project catered for only girls as the name implied but through requests from the communities it was decided to include boys as beneficiaries of the programme.

Mr Darko Asumadu, Regional Coordinator of the Red Cross and partners of the AEI in the New Juaben Municipality, explained to the parents that the MHIS registration was to enable the beneficiaries to have access to healthcare in addition to education. He said they had to support the programme from the level of the family to ensure that the children maximized the benefits of the grants to shape their future.

Mr Rex Baah, Career and Guidance Counsellor of the Ghana Education Service (GES), advised the beneficiaries to take their lessons seriously and stay away from bad friends who might influence their lives negatively.