The assertions made by Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, a member of parliament for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), that he was unaware of GETFund scholarship agreements while serving as deputy minister of education have been refuted.
According to information obtained by DAILY GUIDE, Mr. Ablakwa participated actively in GETFund scholarship negotiations while serving as a minister in the NDC government.
According to some reports, the NDC MP had enough clout to ‘by-pass’ GETFund employees and ‘personally’ negotiate scholarship agreements with overseas colleges on GETFund’s behalf.
A memorandum of agreement (MoU) has been signed by Mr. Ablakwa on behalf of GETFund and Lovely Professional University (LPU) of India.
The contentious Memorandum of Understanding, signed on March 16, 2016, was primarily designed to help negotiate scholarship offers for Ghanaian students to study in India, as well as to give support for Ghanaian schools.
It went on to say that the GETFund was the top body of education in Ghana, in charge of regulating, expanding, and developing institutions in Ghana’s higher education system.
It stated that both GETFund and the LPU recognized that they shared many interests and that their collaboration would benefit both parties.
“GETFund, Ghana has tied up with LPU to provide access to quality education to the students of Ghana,” the MoU, which had Dr. Monica Gulati, the Registrar of LPU, also as a signatory, indicated.
“GETFund intends to further work with LPU, which has already made a significant contribution in the area of higher education in India to guide and mentor universities/colleges and such other organisations,” the MoU added.
The report was released at a time when Mr. Ablakwa publicly denied knowing about GETFund scholarship programs while serving as deputy minister of education.
There have been heated debates in the media recently when it was revealed that some MPs and government officials from both the NDC and the NPP received GETFund scholarships.
Even in the GETFund paperwork, there is a name Mercy Ablakwa, thought to be Mr. Ablakwa’s relative, suggesting that she also received a GETFund scholarship in 2010.
According to an award letter reportedly signed by the GETFund administrator, Sam Garba, Mercy Ablakwa was awarded a total of $33,400 on August 12, 2010 to pursue a BSc Nursing at the University of Charleston in the United States.
The academic scholarship was worth $16,032, while the living allowance and passage cost $17,366.