Gov't increases Disability Grant by 200% - The Daily Statesman Newspaper

Gov’t increases Disability Grant by 200%

The government, through the Ghana Scholarships Secretariat, has increased the Disability Grant by 200 percent.

The move is to ensure that students with disabilities have the necessary assistance (funding support) to enable them access, fully participate in academic and technical programmes and successfully complete their chosen course of study in approved tertiary institutions in the country.

This was announced yesterday by the Registrar of Scholarships, Mr Kingsley Agyemang, at the launch of the Disability Support Initiative (DSI) in the tertiary institutions of the country at the University of Education, Winneba

Mr Agyemang explained that the DSI is not a new initiative but an enhanced and upward reviewed package in the form of grants given to postgraduate students with varying degrees of disabilities.

This, he said, is to reduce the burden of educational cost encountered in their studies for smooth academic work.

Other policies

He disclosed that, in addition to the DSI, the Scholarships Secretariat will also provide a Continuous Professional Development programmes for University Teachers especially those in the specialised teaching programmes and Payment of Academic Facility User Fees for students with disabilities for the 2021/2022 Academic year.

He added that there will be other scholarships at the tertiary level, ranging from Local Tertiary Awards and Foreign Tertiary Awards through Thesis and Bursary Grants to Long Stay Awards for Graduate Medical Students among others.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, all of us who have progressed through the levels of the educational system would bear testimonies of the difficulties or challenges which students with disabilities (SWDs) encountered as they aspire to secure personal growth and development for a better future through education.

“It is also an acknowledged fact that Students with Disabilities are under-represented in the educational system, stigmatised and have to clear hurdles to compete on equal basis with other colleagues with the view to achieve academic success,” he pointed out.

Mr Agyemang also noted that a key issue worth considering is whether our educational system as well as policies of the tertiary institutions reflect the challenging circumstances of SWDs regarding discount on payment of tuition and academic facility user fees, purchase of educational items among others.

Against this backdrop, he said this laudable intervention will restore confidence, hope and empower the SWDs in the tertiary institutions.

Mr Agyemang noted that the introduction of the flagship project District Level Scholarship Scheme in 2019/2020 academic year, has recorded increased enrolment of PWDs at all levels of the tertiary education sector.

“These constitute significant proportion of students of the university community. The Scholarships Secretariat believes that, having an impairment, mental health condition or learning difference shouldn’t prevent these groups from pursuing your ambitions, although it might mean incurring additional costs (e.g. to access specialised equipment),” he said.

He also lauded the efforts of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (GCSP) for collaborating with the Scholarships Secretariat for a successful launch.