The Institute for Liberty and Policy Innovation (ILAPI), a public advocacy group, has petitioned the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) to probe the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETfund) for “causing financial loss to the state”.

This follows a performance audit report of the Auditor-General implicating the GETfund for illegally awarding scholarships meant for brilliant but-needy students, to politicians, especially top appointees in government.

The Executive Secretary of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA), Dr Prince Armah; Education Minister Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh and the Minister of State in charge of Public Procurement, Sarah Adwoa Safo have all been named beneficiaries of GETFund scholarships.

ILAPI, in its petition signed by Executive Director Peter Bismark Kwofie, said: “We believe that the decision to award scholarships to needy students to study in Ghana and abroad have suffered several symptoms of misappropriation and hijacking of awards and funding of scholarships with most notably, the illegal funding of scholarships and transactions of monies – manifests: a) financial loss to the state; b) unsound administration of scholarship funds; and c) awarding of funds to non-existing beneficiaries or ghost names”.

ILAPI said it has confidence in EOCO’s capacity to investigate economic and financial transactions and apply just remedies to “recoup and rectify the financial improprieties that have occurred and, thereby, save this country the huge amounts of money involved once you have satisfied yourself of the propriety of doing so after uncovering the salient facts in respect of these matters. We thank you and your team for your time.”