The initiative aims at supporting brilliant financially challenged Ghanaians who want to pursue or are pursuing undergraduate programmes in the University.

VCEF is an investment fund established for receiving third party donations as well as contributions from the University’s Internally Generated Funds, specifically with the purpose of generating operating income for scholarships

The beneficiary students include Adam Faishal, Stanley Quarshie, Hannah Annorbea, Nana Kwaku Ofosu, Savior Korda, Benjamin Alinyo, Michael Agyemang Duah, Emmanuel Kwaku Letsa and Mirielle Abena Mensah.

The rest are Bernard Agyei Asiedu, McPhelan Atti, Halifax Addo-Twum, Prominent Edukor, Abigail Simon, Precious Akpene Amenyoh, Freeman Edem Agorkpa, Emmanuel Asiedu, Michelle N. Lamiley Mills, Paul Dwebeng and Enoch Agyire.

Professor Abednego Feehi Okoe Amartey, Vice Chancellor, UPSA, said upon his assumption of office as Vice Chancellor, he observed that a number of students were either deferring their courses or eventually dropping out of school.

He said some were dropping out of school not because they were not performing academically, but due to financial constraints.

Prof Amartey said this led to a discussion with the University Council on the establishment of an endowment fund to support needy but brilliant students.

He said Ghana would lose intellectual manpower resources required for national development if high potential students were excluded from tertiary education on the basis of financial reasons.

The Vice-Chancellor expressed the hope that the Fund would be able to cater for more students as compared to 2018/2019 beneficiaries, and tasked students and alumni to be committed to the initiative and as well promote other causes in the interest of the University.

Mr Millison Narh, Board Chair of VCEF, said the goal of the VCEF was to improve access to university education in the country by enabling bright and needy students to receive free undergraduate education at UPSA.

He said the fund was targeting GH¢100 million as its seed capital within four years.

He said the total funds raised since the inception of the fund was GH¢333,000.00 and this entire amount had been invested in a 91 Day fixed deposit account which attracted a total interest of GH¢62,219.37.

Mr Narh recounted that the 2018/2019 VCEF scholarship application interviews were conducted from September 5 to 7, 2018.He said in all, a total of 48 applicants were received and processed for the interviews.

He said the Committee developed a rating scale that was used to evaluate each applicant after the interview, however, out of the 43 applicants interviewed; the top 20, having met the eligible criteria, were found deserving of the award of the scholarship,

He expressed the hope that the Board would increase the quantum of scholarship awards next year, to take care of more brilliant but needy students."The Board will seek opportunities to attract external donations from UPSA alumni in the diaspora as well from foreign donor institutions and individuals," he said.

Dr George Akuffo Dampare, Director General, Welfare, Ghana Police Service, also commended VCEF Fundraising and Award Committee members, corporate organisations, the Vice Chancellor and UPSA Alumni for their commitment to ensure the effective take-off of VCEF.

He said the nature of the initiative has been structured such that the ownership does not rest with the Vice-Chancellor or the University Council but virtually every group affiliated to the University; stating that that was a mark of leadership by excellence.

Dr Dampare tasked the beneficiaries to make stakeholders proud by their academic and moral output; to encourage contributors to continue donating for others to also benefit.“But if we provide the funds to support you and you end up doing anything that does not make you a role model; then you will be doing the people who will come after you ,in terms of wanting to benefit from the fund, a great disservice”, he added.