An education policy research and advocacy think-tank group, Africa Education Watch has lamented over the declining rate of education financing in the country.
The group in its analysis of the 2024 Education Budget disclosed that out of a projected government expenditure of GH¢ 226 billion, only GH¢ 32.7 billion, representing 14.5 percent, was allocated to the education sector which is lower than the 23 percent pledge President Akufo-Addo made to World Leaders.
According to the education-focused think-tank group, the allocation is equally lower than the 2023 Sub-Saharan African average of 15.5 percent and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s minimum target of 20 percent of how much a country must spend on its education annually.
“With a projected GDP of GH¢ 1.05 trillion in 2024, the allocation of GH¢ 32.7 billion to education represents a 3.3 percent education sector share of GDP, which is lower than UNESCO’s target of 6 percent and Sub-Saharan Africa’s average of 5 percent”.
Africa Education Watch, Analysis of the 2024 Education Budget
The group further recounted that the real value of the 2024 education budget of GH¢ 32.7 billion allocations to education even though represents a 32 percent increase from the 2023 allocation of GH¢ 24.7 billion, the 35 percent inflationary impact by December 2023 reduces the real value to GH¢ 21.2 billion, which is less than the 2023 allocation of GH¢ 24.7 billion.
Ghana Fails To Meet International Benchmark Of Financing Education
Furthermore, the Africa Education Watch in its analysis of the 2024 Education Budget strongly stated that Ghana failed to meet the international benchmarks for financing education and further emphasized that the declining rate of the national budget allocated to the education sector will negatively affect the country’s attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals 4 targets which is set at 2030.
Sharing insights into the insufficient funding to some specific areas within the country’s education sector, the Africa Education Watch indicated that despite an amount of GH¢ 1.39 billion allocated to the Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP) representing an increase of 43 percent over the 2023 main budget allocation of GH¢ 969 million, due to the impact of food inflation of 44 per cent as at December 2023, the allocation is worth GH¢ 779 million, which is lower than the 2022 nominal allocation of GH¢ 881 million.
The Africa Education Watch further lamented over the continuous capping of the Ghana Education Trust Fund Levy by the government and stated that due to the capping of the GETFund Levy by the government, the 2024 allocation represents only 40 percent of the projected GETFund Levy accruals of GH¢ 7.9 billion for 2024.
According to the group, the decision by the government particularly the Finance Ministry not to uncap the Ghana Education Trust Fund Act would continue to undermine funding of educational infrastructure across the various public tertiary institutions in the country.
Moreover, the Africa Education Watch recounted that over the past seven (7) years, while the economy of Ghana has increased by four-fold and is further projected to increase further in 2024, education’s share of the country’s gross domestic product continues to decline.
The group while lamenting over the development urged the government to re-set its public education financing protocols to improve the supply of the globally competitive human capital needed to drive economic development.
Among many things, the Africa Education Watch called on the government to scrap the payment of teacher trainees’ allowances to student teachers in Colleges of Education, who are tertiary students and qualify for student loans, and described the payment as “wasteful”.
According to the education-focused think-tank group, half of the GH¢ 222 million earmarked for teacher trainee allowance in 2024 can solve the student loan financial deficit to the benefit of all Ghanaian students including student teachers.
It thus urged the government to invest in the Students Loan Scheme to enable all public tertiary students in the country to get access to the scheme.
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