Vodafone Ghana, a major telecoms operator, in collaboration with the British Council, has awarded scholarships to 100 Senior High School (SHS) female students pursuing Science and Mathematics.

The three-year scholarship package includes payment of full tuition fees, exercise books, and text books.

Mr Gayheart Mensah, Director of External Affairs at Vodafone Ghana, said areas such as Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Science had been dominated by males in the country and this was an effort to balance the equation - starting from the SHS level.

He said with the scholarship package, Vodafone intended to empower the female students, selected across the country, to enable them to develop their potentials in Maths and Science and eventually take up jobs in those fields in the future.

Mr Mensah said even though Vodafone would fulfil its part of the agreement, a lot would depend on the beneficiary students as the sustenance of the scholarship would be based on their academic performance.

He urged the beneficiary students to take their studies seriously, assuring that Vodafone would continue to provide such packages to deserving students across the country.

Mr Alex Kyeremeh, a Deputy Minister of Education, commended Vodafone Ghana for the scholarship package, saying that the gesture would boost the confidence of the beneficiary students.

He said 7.6 per cent of male students in SHS were studying Mathematics and Science as against 3.9 per cent of female students and expressed the hope that the scholarship package would help increase the female ratio.

Liliana Biglou, the Country Director at the British Council, said the selection of the students was purely based on merit as a very strict criteria was employed by the Council.

She expressed the hope that the beneficiary students would continue to learn hard to justify their inclusion.