Dr. Apaak commends MTN Bright Scholarship for removing financial barriers to education

The Deputy Minister for Education, Dr. Clement Abas Apaak, has commended the MTN Bright Scholarship Programme for helping brilliant but needy students overcome financial challenges and pursue their academic ambitions.

He said the programme was an important intervention in efforts to improve access to quality education, particularly for students whose academic potential could be undermined by financial difficulties.

Dr. Apaak made the remarks on Thursday, October 22, 2026, while representing the Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, at the 2026 MTN Bright Scholarship Awards.

The ceremony brought together MTN Ghana, the MTN Ghana Foundation, education officials, parents and scholarship beneficiaries to celebrate students receiving support through the initiative.

Dr. Apaak said although Ghana had made progress in expanding access to education, financial challenges continued to prevent some talented young people from fully pursuing their ambitions.

“But we know that many talented young people still face financial challenges that can stand between them and their academic ambitions,” he said.

He said this was why programmes such as the MTN Bright Scholarship remained important in supporting students who needed financial assistance to continue their education.

“Over the years, the MTN Bright Scholarship Programme has provided invaluable support to brilliant but needy students across the country,” Dr. Apaak said.

According to him, the intervention goes beyond financial assistance by giving beneficiaries hope and confidence in their ability to achieve academic excellence.

“By removing financial barriers, it creates room for deserving students to pursue their ambitions and realise their full potential. Beyond the financial assistance itself, the programme inspires hope, rewards excellence, and places real confidence in the ability of Ghana’s youth,” he added.

Dr. Apaak congratulated the beneficiaries, attributing their recognition to hard work, resilience and commitment to academic excellence.

He encouraged them to remain focused and disciplined and use the opportunity to prepare for careers that would contribute to Ghana’s development.

“Use this opportunity well, and strive to become the leaders, innovators, entrepreneurs, educators, scientists, engineers, healthcare professionals and change-makers this country needs,” he said.

He stressed that investing in students was essential to developing the country’s future workforce and leadership.

“Every scholarship awarded is not only support for one student. It is an investment in the workforce, the leadership and the development our nation will need tomorrow,” Dr. Apaak said.

The Deputy Minister said government remained committed to improving access to education through funding and policies designed to reduce the financial burden on students and parents.

He cited the allocation of GH¢300 million in the 2026 Budget to support continuing scholarship beneficiaries and new local and international scholarship awards.

Dr. Apaak also commended MTN Ghana and the MTN Ghana Foundation for their continued investment in education, describing the scholarship programme as an example of corporate citizenship.

He urged other businesses to support similar initiatives to ensure that financial difficulties did not prevent deserving Ghanaian students from achieving their academic goals.