THE government has released ¢90 billion from the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) for disbursement to students as loans this academic year.
A source at the Ministry of Education, which disclosed this in an interview, said the loans will be channelled through the SSNIT Loans Scheme.
He said the facility has to be disbursed through SSNIT because the GETFund Secretariat has no structures in place to disburse loans to students.
He expressed the hope that the SSNIT Loans Scheme Secretariat will co-ordinate well to disburse the loans to students as early as practicable.
The source said the GETFund has so far disbursed ¢86 billion to educational institutions in the country this year.
According to the source, the five public universities received ¢9 billion to carry out infrastructural development, while the polytechnics were given ¢2.4 billion. Pre-tertiary education had ¢9.3 billion while other agencies under the ministry were given a total of ¢5 billion.
The source said the GETFund also supported the Best Teacher Award Scheme with ¢1 billion, while ¢60 billion was advanced for disbursement as student loans last academic year.
In a related development, the Education Minister, Professor Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi, has underscored the need for the public to make dispassionate assessment of the nation’s capabilities, strengths and mobilise opinion for a clear-cut action on the issue of funding tertiary education in the country, reports Nehemia Owusu Achiaw.
He said of even greater significance and importance is the need for all stakeholders to accept their respective responsibilities on the issue of funding tertiary education.
Professor Ameyaw-Akumfi made the remarks in a paper he delivered at the Pearson-Osae Appreciation Lecture in Kumasi at the weekend.
His topic was “Overhauling the new educational reforms in Ghana”.
The lecture was jointly organised by Prempeh College and Prempeh College Old Students Association as part of activities marking the Golden Jubilee of the school.
Rev Sydney Pearson was the first headmaster and Dr T. A. Osae was the fifth and first Ghanaian headmaster of Prempeh College.
Professor Ameyaw-Akumfi said funding tertiary education is an issue that would test the resolve of Ghanaians as people and nation.
He said the public should also discuss the issue of diversifying sources of funding tertiary education and focus should be placed on distance education, post-graduate training, and related research, information and communications technology.
Prof Ameyaw-Akumfi said education finance is an issue which deserves all seriousness that the nation can muster.
He said “we are all witnesses to our inability to complete programmes and projects, essentially due to the non-availability of funds”.
He said despite the problems, the government has, in collaboration with its development partners, strived to ensure that the education sector continues to attract considerable attention in terms of budgetary allocation.
On the duration of JSS/SSS programmes, Professor Ameyaw-Akumfi said in considering the issue of the duration, it is important for the public to take cognisance of the significant financial and logistical cost involved.
He asked whether the country is prepared to bear the necessary financial commitment to implement any extension of the programme.
Mr Kwame Amo-Dako, President of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), said there was nothing wrong with the JSS and SSS programmes and their curriculum.
However, he said, certain assumptions underpinned the structure, which were not true and the nation is still grappling with those assumptions 14 years into the implementation of the two programmes.
He said one of the assumptions of the new education reforms was that the government would supply basic textbooks for schools.
Mr Amo-Dako said even though some books have been supplied, there are no books yet for Religious and Moral Education, Ghanaian Languages, pre-Vocational Skills, Environmental Studies and French.
As regards recommendations to address some of the challenges of the JSS and SSS programmes, Mr Amo-Dako said the issue of extension of the duration of the SSS programme should be revisited.
