The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) pledged that its commitment to supporting education in Ghana remains unwavering.

This affirmation follows what the Board deems as misconceptions in the public domain concerning the recent inauguration of the COCOBOD Education Trust.

In a statement, it said the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Mr. Peter Mac Manu, inaugurated a five-member Board of Trustees for the newly established COCOBOD Education Trust on Monday, May 20, 2024.

This new Trust represents a system designed to utilise funds previously allocated to the Cocoa Scholarship Scheme, which has seen changes in relevance following the introduction of the free Senior High School (SHS) policy in 2017.

The Cocoa Scholarship Scheme was established to support wards of cocoa farmers to pursue secondary education.

However, with the introduction of the free senior high school policy, this scheme is no longer necessary.

The COCOBOD Education Trust is a new initiative that will utilise the funds allocated to the scholarship scheme to support education in other ways.

The statement said the COCOBOD Education Trust is aimed at providing resources and infrastructure for basic schools in cocoa-growing communities, and to help bridge the infrastructure gap between schools in deprived areas and those in urban centres.

The Board said it appreciates the concerns shared among the public, perceiving this new system as failure or collapse of the Scholarship Scheme that has supported the education of many prominent Ghanaian for more than 70 year.

The COCOBOD Education Trust is a new chapter in our efforts to support the education of wards of cocoa farmers, and we are confident that it will make a positive impact in the lives of many.

The COCOBOD Education Trust is therefore not a termination of the Board’s educational support programmes, but to diversify to better serve evolving

educational needs in rural communities, including provision of essential facilities such as classrooms, libraries, teachers bungalows, among others, and ensuring a conducive learning environment for children.

The COCOBOD Education Trust is a strategic initiative to build on the success of the past while introducing innovative methods to meet the evolving needs ofo beneficiaries.