A needy student of the Ho Technical University has resorted to sneaking into lectures over the inability to pay her fees.
The 20-year-old, Cynthia Doe, in Level 100 risks dropping out of school if she finds no help to raise GHC1,730.
Cynthia lives with her parents and six siblings in Adaklu Kojobi, a small town close to Ho in the Volta Region.
Her father, a 64-year-old peasant farmer is incapacitated after undergoing a medical procedure two years ago leaving her mother, a petty trader, as the breadwinner of the family.
But her family’s poverty is her motivation to make a difference.
“I want to be someone great in future,” she told theghanareport.com in an interview.
Cynthia is the first in her family to have formal education.
“I am the 5th born of seven children, I have three elder sisters and a brother, my sisters dropped out of school in lower primary and were married off but I want to at least finish my tertiary education,” she said.
She said, her mother barely makes up for her capital from her fried yam (koliko) business, making it impossible to save enough money to pay for her fees.
“I have been playing hide and seek with the school authorities because of my underpaid fees, I sneak in to attend lectures and on days that I am caught, I hang around campus for my friends so they teach me” she narrated.
Cynthia’s stealthy ways of attending lectures are over as students prepare to write end-of-semester exams.
“Even during my secondary school days, it was someone who saw my results and offered to help…. sometimes I feel sad when I think about my situation,” she said.
Cynthia says she walks to and fro Adaklu Kojobi to lectures in Ho every day, sometimes on an empty stomach.
“I know God will send me a helper, I have a strong conviction that I will finish my three-years course, I don’t know how but I believe I will” she stressed.
Why Management Studies
Cynthia’s dream is to become a nurse but her financial situation had her change the plan.
“Initially, I wanted to attend Winneba Nursing school but even the money to buy the forms was a problem, so my parents spoke to someone they knew at Ho Technical University and he helped me secure admission.
“I don’t want to finish school and roam in search of a job, so with management studies, I can apply the knowledge I acquire in school to my own business when I complete school” she added.
Cynthia needs to raise GHC1,740 before the end of March else she risks missing out on the end-of-year semester exams.
Cynthia is an inspiration to her two younger siblings who are motivated to stay in school.
