President John Dramani Mahama has committed his administration to steadily increasing public spending on education to meet the UNESCO-recommended benchmark of between 4 and 6 percent of Gross Domestic Product, describing education financing as central to Ghana’s long-term recovery and development.
The pledge was made at the 7th Quadrennial National Delegates Conference of the Ghana National Association of Teachers, where the President reflected on the country’s recent economic challenges and outlined plans to rebuild confidence and capacity in the education sector.
“Our economy has been severely buffeted by a debt crisis and macroeconomic instability, which was characterised by high inflation and a weakening currency.”
President John Dramani Mahama
While acknowledging that prudent economic management has begun to yield positive results, he emphasized that the recovery remains incomplete and that strategic investments, particularly in education, are crucial to achieving sustainable growth.
The President disclosed that education spending in 2026 has been increased by ten percent over 2025 levels. However, he noted that even with this increase, education expenditure currently stands at about 3.1 percent of GDP, which falls below UNESCO’s minimum recommendation of four percent.
He assured teachers and education stakeholders that the government will continue to scale up investment in the sector over the next three years to meet international benchmarks and align Ghana with the Education 2030 Framework for Action.
Restoring Constitutional Allocation of DACF
According to President Mahama, one of the key pathways to expanding education financing lies in restoring the constitutional allocation to the District Assemblies Common Fund.
He explained that the constitution provides for the Common Fund to range between five and eight percent of gross national revenue, but that previous reductions lowered the allocation from 7.5 percent at the end of 2016 to five percent in 2017.
His administration, he said, intends to rebuild the allocation to between 7.5 and eight percent. He further announced plans to channel the additional three percent that would result from the restored Common Fund allocation directly into the education and health sectors.
The President said this approach would strengthen service delivery at the local level and ensure that critical social sectors benefit from increased decentralised funding.
Fixing Education Governance Lapses
Beyond financing, President Mahama addressed governance and accountability issues within the education sector, noting that Ghana has emerged from what he described as a dark period during which many school heads were dismissed or transferred for speaking up about challenges within the system.
“… and yet the best way to grow our education sector is through transparency, which I’ll protect your right to speak up and to point out when things are not going well.”
President John Dramani Mahama
The President said a culture that encourages honest feedback will help government identify gaps early and respond more effectively to challenges facing schools and institutions.
President Mahama also highlighted recent interventions aimed at easing the financial burden on students and expanding access to tertiary education.
Boosting Funding for Tertiary Education
He noted that under the No Fees Stress Policy, first-year public tertiary students have benefited significantly. Out of 178,745 students enrolled during the academic year, 152,688 were successfully validated and reimbursed by the Student Loan Trust Fund.
He described the policy as an important step toward equity and inclusion in higher education. In addition, the President announced that Parliament has passed a Scholarship Authority Bill, which he said will reform the administration of scholarships in Ghana.
According to him, the new framework will end cronyism and political interference in scholarship awards, replacing it with a transparent and fair system aligned with national skills and development priorities.
He said the reform will ensure that public scholarships serve strategic national interests while expanding opportunities for deserving students.
The Mahama administration’s budgetary allocations over the period underscore the scale of its education commitments. For 2026, total allocations to the Ministry of Education stand at approximately GH¢33.3 billion, equivalent to about 3.03 billion dollars.
This represents an increase from GH¢28.39 billion in 2025 to GH¢33.76 billion in 2026. When combined with funding from the Ghana Education Trust Fund and District Assembly Common Fund allocations to education, total sector-wide spending is estimated at GH¢39.2 billion, according to the Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu.
UNESCO recommends that countries allocate between four and six percent of GDP and 15 to 20 percent of total public expenditure to education.
President Mahama said Ghana’s trajectory, though currently below these thresholds, is moving in the right direction. He reiterated that education remains a priority investment and a cornerstone of the country’s broader recovery agenda.
The President concluded by urging teachers and education stakeholders to partner with government in delivering reforms that improve quality, access and outcomes across the system.
He emphasized that increased funding must be matched by accountability, professionalism and a shared commitment to rebuilding trust in Ghana’s education sector.
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