The Ghana Chamber of Mines Tertiary Education Fund (GCM-TEF) has presented a cheque for GHȻ340,000 to 68 students as bursary at the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT) in the Tarkwa- Nsuaem Municipality of the Western Region.
So far, a total of 96 UMaT students have benefitted from the GCM- TEF package since its inception in October 2019.
A total of US$93,543.91 in bursary has been disbursed from 2019 to date whilee grants for postgraduate research is also US$53,910.40.
Stephen Ndede, Chairman of the Governing Board at TEF, at a brief ceremony, said GCM believes no brilliant student should be stopped from furthering his or her education due to financial constraints.
He explained that the fund supports research of faculty members and postgraduate students related to the industry needs and application of automated systems.
Others, he mentioned, include scholarships for undergraduate students, industry training programmes, internship for faculty members, and provision of educational resources for teaching and learning.
“Our desire is to continuously support undergraduate students at the university for the benefit of our industry and the nation at large. It is our hope that the support we are providing will motivate both students and faculty members to give of the best at all times,” he added.
He pointed out that the completion of UMaT’s Faculty of Mining and Mineral Technology block reaffirms the board’s commitment and that of the Ghana Chamber of Mines to improve the investment for the benefit of the mining industry and the nation at large.
“We have committed over GHȻ12million toward infrastructure development at UMaT. This is an affirmation of the TEF commitment to preparing a pipeline of human capital of the university,” he added.
Joshua Mortoti, President of GCM, noted that maintaining and advancing academic research and skills development in the mining industry is a priority for the chamber.
“As we position ourselves as the hub of mining services in Africa, research must take the lead role in our quest for top-notch productivity. Enhanced productivity requires the right human capital investment,” he said.
Prof. Richard K. Amankwah, Vice Chancellor – UMaT, said the GCM-TEF aims at building the needed human resource capital for the mining, and assuring that the university is envisioned to produce high calibre mining professionals for the local industry and beyond.
“This support has become a game-changer for UMaT and a good publicity for the chamber,” he said.
Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, George Mireku Duker, suggested that the chamber should increase its support to beneficiary students, especially females, to promote gender equality in the mining industry.
