Twenty-seven brilliant but needy students in the Upper West Region have received support from the Regional Chief Imam Education Endowment Fund (IMAMFUND) to further their studies at the tertiary level. They included 12 females and 15 males with 25 of them identifying as Muslims and two non-Muslims, who had their school fees for the 2024/2025 academic year fully paid. A total of GHS64,906.41 had been disbursed to the beneficiaries with each receiving between GHS1,000.00 and GHS4,000.00 based on the request. They form the second batch of beneficiaries of the Fund as 16 students were supported in the 2023/2024 academic year. Mr Moomin Seidu, the Council Secretary, who announced this at a press conference in Wa on Wednesday, said 44 entries were received from students when the application was announced in October 2023 during the Fund's second annual conference. The establishment of the IMAMFUND was necessitated by the numerous requests for financial support for school fees to the office of the Regional Chie f Imam, Alhaji Osman Mahama Kanihi, since he assumed office about four years ago. 'Acknowledging the prevalent poverty levels and substandard educational conditions among the youth, the Upper West Regional Chief Imam's Office finds it imperative to proactively address these challenges by identifying suitable solutions to enhance financial support for education within the Muslim communities in the Region,' he said. 'This initiative aims not only to liberate financially disadvantaged yet academically gifted youth from the constraints hindering their educational aspirations but also to narrow the substantial educational gap between Muslim youth and their peers'. Mr Seidu, however, said the inclusion of deserving non-Muslim students in the scholarship scheme was an indication of the non discriminatory nature of the IMAMFUND. He said the significance of education in personal, community and national development could not be over emphasised and that the IMAMFUND believed in education as a catalyst for building s trong and enlightened communities. The Council Secretary noted that the Holy Quran considered education as a religious duty, hence the Regional Chief Imam's decision to promote education among the youth. He expressed gratitude to the individuals, organisations, communities, clans and groups among others, whose contributions in cash and kind made the establishment and sustainability of the Fund possible to 'transform the beneficiaries' tears into smiles'. Mr Seidu, however, encouraged the donors to continue their support to enable the Fund to provide financial assistance to more needy students in the region. Miss Amina Hamidu, a beneficiary, thanked the managers of the IMAMFUND for the support, without which she and the other beneficiaries would have struggled to pay their fees. She pledged their commitment to working hard to justify the investment made in their education to make the Chief Imam proud. Source: Ghana News Agency