The Minister of Education, Hon. Haruna Iddrisu has confirmed the allocation of ₵4.2 billion from the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) to finance Free Senior High School (SHS) and Free Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) infrastructure and services.
Speaking at a media briefing in Accra on Wednesday, 19th November, the Minister clarified that the total GETFund allocation stands at ₵9.9 billion, with ₵4.2 billion specifically earmarked for the Free SHS/TVET programs. This statement directly addressed and dismissed media claims, suggesting the Free SHS program had no financial allocation.
Hon. Iddrisu explained that a major policy shift introduced in the 2025 budget mandated that financing for the Free SHS program would move from petroleum revenues under the Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA) to the GETFund
“So the shift is at this time, GETFund will provide the financing for free senior high school. An amount of 4.2 billion has been allocated. When the GETFund formula gets to Parliament, you will see the actual numbers.”
This ₵4.2 billion allocation is intended to cover the feeding of students and the provision of free tertiary education for persons with disability. The disbursement for the latter is expected to be a collaboration between the Student Loan Trust and the yet-to-be-established Ghana Scholarship Authority.
Hon. Iddrisu also took a moment to celebrate recent achievements within the education sector, specifically recognizing Mankranso Senior High School’s success, while reiterating his commitment to boosting overall school quality
“I have maintained all the time that the quality of it, and therefore we need to boost their morale, work to improve. A number of Category A schools, and we intend to expand 10 Category B schools to A, and 10 Category C schools to B, and then expand some areas. And then to many of the schools that may be listening to me, on my way here, I have added Mankranso Senior High School. Based on the National Maths and Science Quiz, my heart is warmed to reach out to them to know their excellence. So I’m still monitoring.”
The Minister expressed optimism that Parliament will soon finalize the GETFund formula and related legislation, allowing the President to give assent to the bill under Article 106 of the Constitution, thereby securing the financial future of free secondary and vocational education.
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Story by Kelvin Owusu Andam| univers.ug.edu.gh
Edited by Deborah Owusu
