Twenty exceptional but needy undergraduate persons with disabilities have received support from the MTN Ghana Bright Scholarships to enter the tertiary level for the 2024/2025 academic year.
The MTN Bright Scholarship Programme seeks to ease the financial burden on students by catering for the cost of tuition, accommodation, and stipend for books and other study materials including new HP laptops throughout the beneficiaries’ academic journey.
This year MTN Ghana Foundation awarded scholarships to 200 deserving tertiary students across the country with 20 differently-abled.
Mr Stephen Blewett, Chief Executive Officer, MTN Ghana Foundation, speaking at the awards ceremony in Accra congratulated all the scholarship beneficiaries for being selected for the scholarship scheme.
He said, “I am personally excited to celebrate you for the exceptional potential that you have been blessed with and it is our objective as MTN to support in bringing this potential to fruition through the scholarship scheme.”
Mr Blewettstated that the awards to the 20 students reflected MTN’s commitment to diversity and inclusion adding that every child had the right to education.
“MTN Ghana Foundation is thrilled to award scholarships to 200 young men and women including differently-abled who aspire to change their fortunes through higher education,” he added.
He noted that MTN was committed to empowering students from all 16 regions of Ghana.
Mr Blewett acknowledged the critical role education played in breaking cycles of poverty and promoting national development.
“Education opens doors to opportunities, fosters innovation, and enables individuals to contribute meaningfully to society.
This scholarship programme is not just about financial assistance but rather we are investing in dreams, potential, and the promise of a better tomorrow,” he said.
He stated that the Bright Scholarship, initially aimed at awarding 100 scholarships annually, had seen an increase in beneficiaries over the years.
Mr Blewett therefore encouraged the beneficiaries to embrace this opportunity with passion and determination, saying their selection was a testament to their hard work and potential.
“The only difficulty you should face is the challenge of studying. Congratulations to all of you, and may you continue to strive for excellence,” he added.
Mr Robert K. KwuamKuzoe, Senior Manager, Sustainability and Social Impact, MTN Ghana, highlighted the programme’s objective of providing students with peace of mind by providing tuition and accommodation.
“Our aim is to ensure that these students can focus entirely on their studies without worrying about financial constraints,” he said.
Throwing more light on the selection process, he noted that the Foundation received over 2,000 applications adding that to ensure fairness and transparency, the Foundation enlisted with the help of independent panellists, unaffiliated with MTN Ghana, to assess and screen the applicants.
“The panellists were able to narrow it down to the 200 students who were most deserving and in genuine need of the scholarship,” he added.
Since its inception, the MTN Bright Scholarship programme has awarded 520 students, supporting bright students from deprived communities and ensuring that they focused on their education without financial worries.
