US$1.5bn To Support Ghana’s Educational Infrastructure Ready

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Enormous pressure on existing infrastructure

By Benson Afful

Government of Ghana has set aside an amount of US$1.5 billion GETFUND financing for educational infrastructure in the various Senior High Schools across the country, Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has said. Speaking at a Town Hall Meeting in Accra, US$1.5 billion will use in building infrastructures — school blocks and dormitories.

The purpose, it will be used for critical education infrastructure, especially, to complete the numerous uncompleted buildings in secondary and tertiary institutions.

A proposal to secure up to US$1.5billion long-term financing for GETFUND, on the back of a portion of VAT receivables as prescribed in Act 581, will be issued in three tranches (bond dividend) of US$500 million has already been presented to Parliament.

The US$1.5billion GETFUND money is an attempt by the government to tackle some of the challenges that came with the introduction of the Free SHS in 2017, which brought in additional 90,000 students, who would have missed out SHS education.

In 2018, enrolment increased by 36 percent, meaning additional 181,000 students had a chance to access secondary education; this has put enormous pressure on the existing infrastructure, which various commentators have urged the government to resolve.

GETFUND money expected to ease the congestion and some challenges that came with the introduction of the free SHS.

The Ministry of Education received a budgetary allocation GHc12.87 billion for the 2019 financial year, of which, GH¢1.682 billion, earmarked for the implementation of the Free SHS program.

The Scholarship Secretariat which operates under the Office of Government Machinery has been tasked to cater for the direct funding of the Free SHS program. Since 2018 the GH¢1.682 billion budgetary allocation for the program excluded the total budgetary allocation to the ministry for the Scholarship Secretariat.

GETFUND money to address some of the challenges that came with the introduction of the Free SHS

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