Government is in the process of setting up a fund to receive voluntary contributions from individuals to support the implementation of its flagship Free Senior High School programme, and the education sector as a whole.<\/p>\n
This was disclosed by the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, when he presented the 2018 budget statement to Parliament on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Ghana\u2019s education sector has been saddled with inadequate infrastructure and teaching materials, low pay for teachers particularly at the basic and SHS level.<\/p>\n
[contextly_sidebar id=”6sqmGlY18kbP6aHoVKOitVi3Na46ZzZJ”]The implementation of the free Senior High School (SHS) policy recently suffered some setbacks as some schools are faced with the challenge of inadequate infrastructure.<\/p>\n
The headteachers of some Senior High Schools were interdicted, while one of them at the La Presbyterian Senior High School in Accra was transferred<\/strong><\/a> for asking parents of new students under the Free SHS policy to pay for the purchase of plastic chairs to enable their wards to sit on them in class.<\/p>\n There are a number of schools in the country that are either having classes under trees<\/strong><\/a> or are in dilapidated structures.<\/p>\n Presenting the 2018 budget statement, the Finance Minister said the setting up of the Fund has become necessary following proposals made to government.<\/p>\n \u201cMr. Speaker, with the successful launch of the free SHS programme, government received proposals from the public, several of which encourage the establishment of a fund to receive voluntary contributions to support education. Thankfully, the GETFund Law allows for the setting up of other education-related funds. In 2018, the Ministry will work with GET FUND to set up this education fund to enable Ghanaians make voluntary contributions to support education,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Government is expected to spend close to GHc1 billion on the beneficiaries of the free SHS programme for this academic year.<\/p>\n The figure is expected to shoot up in subsequent years.<\/p>\n Government had prior to reopening of the 2017\/2018 academic year of second cycle institutions in the country, released\u00a0half of the GHc 486 million<\/strong><\/a><\/span>\u00a0earmarked for the programme for the first term.<\/p>\n –<\/p>\n By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey\/citifmonline.com\/Ghana
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