{"id":374576,"date":"2017-11-17T07:20:54","date_gmt":"2017-11-17T07:20:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=374576"},"modified":"2017-11-17T07:20:54","modified_gmt":"2017-11-17T07:20:54","slug":"budgetary-allocation-for-free-shs-woefully-inadequate-ablakwa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/11\/budgetary-allocation-for-free-shs-woefully-inadequate-ablakwa\/","title":{"rendered":"Budgetary allocation for Free SHS ‘woefully inadequate’ – Ablakwa"},"content":{"rendered":"

National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for the North Tongu Constituency, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has described the government\u2019s budgetary allocation for Free SHS as woefully inadequate to support the programme.<\/p>\n

According to him, government would need at least two billion cedis to support Free SHS in 2018, 800 million cedis more than the amount that was allocated to it in the budget.<\/p>\n

[contextly_sidebar id=”wyNSSYNiYum3Eo5MHbswsZjwx1kcPnXB”]\u201cIt is clear that there are real challenges, and sadly, we didn\u2019t hear of a Marshall Plan. I thought there was going to be a huge plan based on the assurances the President had given the nation that he was aware of the challenges with free SHS and that the nation should expect that it will be addressed soon. Unfortunately, the 2018 budget did not present a Marshall Plan to address these challenges. What we are seeing is an inadequate allocation in the budget; 1.2 billion is woefully inadequate for four terms for the 2018 fiscal year,\u201d the former deputy education minister said on the Point Blank segment of Eyewitness News<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) government\u2019s flagship free Senior High School programme was launched in September as part of measures to ensure all Ghanaian children are educated, \u00a0at least,\u00a0up to the SHS level.<\/p>\n

However, since its introduction, the programme has encountered a number of issues, mostly in relation to the capacity of the schools and the availability of desks <\/a><\/strong>for and other infrastructure for students.<\/p>\n

The President<\/strong><\/a> and Education Minister have assured Ghanaians that the challenges would be addressed to ensure that the students receive the full benefits of the programme.<\/p>\n

However, according to Mr. Ablakwa, the government failed to present a clear strategy in the 2018 budget statement to fix the issues despite their assurances.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u2018You can\u2019t run education with voluntary funds\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

The government announced that it would set up a fund<\/strong><\/a> to receive voluntary contributions from individuals to support the implementation of the free SHS programme and the educational sector as a whole.<\/p>\n

However, this plan has come under fire from the Minority who believe this is an indication that government does not have the funds to properly implement its much-touted programme.<\/p>\n

And according to Okudzeto Ablakwa, the government cannot afford to rely on the voluntary funds as a source of funding for free SHS, as projections for those funds may not materialize.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo country runs public education on just voluntary funds. What if the Fund is not considered attractive and you don\u2019t really get as much as you are expecting. We can\u2019t leave the destiny of our children\u2019s quality education to just a voluntary fund where we don\u2019t really know the projections. Meanwhile there\u2019s an 800 million-cedi gap as we speak. You\u2019ve only allocated 1.2 billion but you need two billion cedis, at least to sustain free SHS for the 2018 fiscal year,\u201d he argued.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou cannot just depend on voluntary funds, you can\u2019t run education that way. You need a concrete plan and you need a well-defined funding source. It\u2019s clear that government is struggling to fund it and struggling to identify a clear funding source.\u201d
\n–
\nBy: Edwin Kwakofi\/citifmonline.com\/Ghana<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for the North Tongu Constituency, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has described the government\u2019s budgetary allocation for Free SHS as woefully inadequate to support the programme. According to him, government would need at least two billion cedis to support Free SHS in 2018, 800 million cedis more than the amount […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":195084,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1730,2,11],"tags":[11511,253,3,903],"yoast_head":"\nBudgetary allocation for Free SHS 'woefully inadequate' - Ablakwa - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/11\/budgetary-allocation-for-free-shs-woefully-inadequate-ablakwa\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Budgetary allocation for Free SHS 'woefully inadequate' - Ablakwa - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for the North Tongu Constituency, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has described the government\u2019s budgetary allocation for Free SHS as woefully inadequate to support the programme. According to him, government would need at least two billion cedis to support Free SHS in 2018, 800 million cedis more than the amount […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/11\/budgetary-allocation-for-free-shs-woefully-inadequate-ablakwa\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/citi97.3\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-11-17T07:20:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kojo Akoto Boateng\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@citi973\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@citi973\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kojo Akoto Boateng\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/11\/budgetary-allocation-for-free-shs-woefully-inadequate-ablakwa\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/11\/budgetary-allocation-for-free-shs-woefully-inadequate-ablakwa\/\",\"name\":\"Budgetary allocation for Free SHS 'woefully inadequate' - Ablakwa - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-11-17T07:20:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-11-17T07:20:54+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1642ef473fe39bf0c4e2f2f252678eb1\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/11\/budgetary-allocation-for-free-shs-woefully-inadequate-ablakwa\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/11\/budgetary-allocation-for-free-shs-woefully-inadequate-ablakwa\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/11\/budgetary-allocation-for-free-shs-woefully-inadequate-ablakwa\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Budgetary allocation for Free SHS ‘woefully inadequate’ – Ablakwa\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/\",\"name\":\"Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always\",\"description\":\"Ghana News | Ghana Politics | Ghana Soccer | Ghana Showbiz\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1642ef473fe39bf0c4e2f2f252678eb1\",\"name\":\"Kojo Akoto Boateng\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ba51f5385119e83762c67ecd6aa410ab?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ba51f5385119e83762c67ecd6aa410ab?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Kojo Akoto Boateng\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/author\/kojo\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Budgetary allocation for Free SHS 'woefully inadequate' - Ablakwa - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/11\/budgetary-allocation-for-free-shs-woefully-inadequate-ablakwa\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Budgetary allocation for Free SHS 'woefully inadequate' - Ablakwa - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always","og_description":"National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for the North Tongu Constituency, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has described the government\u2019s budgetary allocation for Free SHS as woefully inadequate to support the programme. According to him, government would need at least two billion cedis to support Free SHS in 2018, 800 million cedis more than the amount […]","og_url":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/11\/budgetary-allocation-for-free-shs-woefully-inadequate-ablakwa\/","og_site_name":"Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/citi97.3","article_published_time":"2017-11-17T07:20:54+00:00","author":"Kojo Akoto Boateng","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@citi973","twitter_site":"@citi973","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kojo Akoto Boateng","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/11\/budgetary-allocation-for-free-shs-woefully-inadequate-ablakwa\/","url":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/11\/budgetary-allocation-for-free-shs-woefully-inadequate-ablakwa\/","name":"Budgetary allocation for Free SHS 'woefully inadequate' - Ablakwa - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-11-17T07:20:54+00:00","dateModified":"2017-11-17T07:20:54+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1642ef473fe39bf0c4e2f2f252678eb1"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/11\/budgetary-allocation-for-free-shs-woefully-inadequate-ablakwa\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/11\/budgetary-allocation-for-free-shs-woefully-inadequate-ablakwa\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/11\/budgetary-allocation-for-free-shs-woefully-inadequate-ablakwa\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Budgetary allocation for Free SHS ‘woefully inadequate’ – Ablakwa"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/","name":"Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always","description":"Ghana News | Ghana Politics | Ghana Soccer | Ghana Showbiz","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1642ef473fe39bf0c4e2f2f252678eb1","name":"Kojo Akoto Boateng","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ba51f5385119e83762c67ecd6aa410ab?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ba51f5385119e83762c67ecd6aa410ab?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Kojo Akoto Boateng"},"url":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/author\/kojo\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/374576"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=374576"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/374576\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/195084"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=374576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=374576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=374576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}