Uncapping GETFund for Free SHS Feeding Was to Prevent Academic Disruption – Education Minister
Gladson Afriyie
Journalist
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Education Minister Hon. Haruna Iddrisu has defended the Mahama administration’s decision to uncap the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) to finance feeding under the Free Senior High School programme, insisting there is “no shortage of food anywhere in any secondary school across the country.”
Responding to questions in Parliament, the Minister said while the expansion of free compulsory universal basic education to include secondary education was “transformative” and credit should go to the previous government, the current government deserves credit for uncapping GETFund.
*GETFund Uncapped to Protect Academic Calendar*
“Under the previous administration GETFund was capped, so GETFund never got enough allocation of what it deserve under its 2.5% VAT rate,” Hon. Iddrisu told the House. “Subsequent to the uncapping is the major policy decision of President Mahama that in order that academic calendars are not disrupted for lack of food, lack of payment for it, essential perishables, I want to use GETFund now to finance feeding under the Free Senior High School programme.”
“That is our government decision and that we are implementing,” he added. “So Mr Speaker there is no shortage of food anywhere in any secondary school across the country.”
*Infrastructure Mandate Affected*
The Minister admitted the policy shift comes “at a price and cost to the mandate of GETFund to provide for infrastructure.” He recalled that the Fund’s focus “was to complement not supplement government financing of education.”
“But Mr Speaker we want to have free secondary education in Ghana and therefore we should be able to bear its financial burden,” he said.
*Double Track Linked to Past Infrastructure Gaps*
Hon. Iddrisu said Ghana is “not investing adequately” in foundational basic education, adding that “in the past for the last eight years commensurate investment in infrastructure for free senior high school was not done.”
He revealed that lack of infrastructure was “what inspired us to go to the World Bank to end double track system.”
“Double track comes with an academic consequence – less contact hours, less learning period. Students have to go home earlier than they should,” the Minister explained.
He stressed that global best practice is for government to “invest more in foundational basic education because when a child gets literacy rights he gets his learning success right into the future.”
