EduWatch reacts to Bawumia’s Free tertiary scholarships for PWDs

Africa Education Watch (EduWatch) following the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia promise to give free tertiary scholarships to Persons with Disabilities says the initiative should be of utmost priority to the political parties in the country.

In an encounter with the Clergy in Sefwi-Wiawso in the Western North Region, on Friday, the Vice-President and leader of NPP for the 2024 election said the policy will form part of a comprehensive programme for Persons with Disabilities

“We are giving scholarships to all manner of people but I want to dedicate some of the money from the scholarship Secretariat and GETFUND to provide free tertiary education, both tuition and accommodation to all persons with disabilities, who will make it to the universities so that they can all benefit from that,” he stated.

Mr Mahamudu added that as Patron of Lepers Aid Ghana, he had been engaging in lots of activities to support the vulnerable, and his government will prioritise broader support for PWDs and vulnerable members of the society.

But describing the initiative as a step in the right direction, EduWatch said the biggest challenge will be graduate unemployment saying that thousands of PWDs are sitting at home, many years after graduating from tertiary.

The Executive Director of EduWatch, Kofi Asare in a social media post said “No one wants to employ them due to the burden of re-conditioning workplace facilities to be disability friendly, and the apprehensions of low productivity.

Even the public sector is not practising equitable employment for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs), much more the private sector with no incentives

We need an effective equitable employment policy to mop up the huge number of graduate PWDs and create equitable employment pathways. Otherwise, free tertiary education for PWDs may not lead to shared economic prosperity.”