Ghana’s education minister calls for reallocating spending toward basic education
Ghana’s Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu said the country should direct more attention and resources to basic education, particularly to developing children’s literacy and numeracy skills. In his view, government spending on secondary education is excessive, MyJoyOnline reports.
Priority for basic education
Speaking on the Newsfile programme on JoyNews on Saturday, September 12, Iddrisu described excessive spending on secondary education as one of the main negative consequences of the previous administration’s work for Ghana’s education system.
According to the minister, investment in education should begin at the basic level, where children acquire the literacy and numeracy skills needed for further learning. He noted that early literacy development significantly increases a child’s chances of success at subsequent stages of education.
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Spending on education programmes
Iddrisu also drew attention to the cost of government education initiatives. In particular, he said that about 3.4 billion Ghanaian cedis are spent on the school feeding programme.
The minister linked these expenses to broader government investments in education under the Free SHS free senior high school education policy. He called the policy an important achievement, while acknowledging the financial burden associated with its implementation.
According to Iddrisu, Ghana needs to achieve a better balance in the allocation of funds between different levels of education. He also noted the efforts of the administration of President John Mahama, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) to mobilize resources for the education sector. The minister said that GETFund is now able to raise sufficient funds to support education.
