Executive Director of Africa Education Watch, Kofi Asare, has called on government to dedicate some percentage of the national budget to education.

According to him, budgetary allocation for education has witnessed some level of decline for some time.

His comments follow African CSOs petition to Presidents across the continent to increase domestic funding.

Commenting on what’s prompting push for increased funding, Mr Asare explained that it has become crucial for government to address some challenges via allocation to the education sector.

“If you study the trajectory, you realize that between 2010 and 2012, we reached 30% national budgetary allocation to education sector and we were doing about 6% of GDP. Since 2012, the contribution of the national budget to education and of GDP to education has been in a decline. As we speak, we are doing only 14% per the 2021 budget. We acknowledge that there are challenges due to COVID and that is why this summit is very important. Because the global practice for education is rallying world leaders to commit to at least maintaining education at finance level at pre-COVID level so that, the increasing number of out-of school children are not left to wallow, but rather have the opportunity re-enter and complete school.

“In Ghana about 400,000 children of primary school going age are still not in school due to among others, lack of funds. That is why this summit is important and for that matter our call on the President and minister of education to commit up to 20% of the national budget and 5% of GDP to education is very necessary”.

Decline in budgetary allocation to education

Touching on whether commitment to education by government has increased particularly with the Free SHS introduction, Mr Asare revealed that the current investment in the sector is not enough.

Additionally, he noted that despite government’s commitment of GHC15 billion this year, the percentage of “the national budget expenditure going to education is reducing”.

“Don’t forget that the economy is declining, GDP has more than doubled over the past ten years. So, you expect that in terms of the quantum, definitely the nominal value of funds allocated for education is going to increase. But percentage-wise, if GDP increases, it means that the percentage contribution to education by way of GDP and national budget must be stable”.

He further indicated that until government addresses the challenge in providing quality education for all, “you’ll only have free senior high school benefiting from adequate resources”.

“What we are experiencing is that, GDP has more than doubled, but contribution for national budget to education has reduced from 30% to less than half in 2021.

“While TVET and other aspects of our educational system including basic education will suffer because of the financing gap”.

Reviving the education sector

Mr Asare further explained that the world is going through an austerity because of COVID. As such, countries “resorted to loans and ways of mobilizing cash domestically”.

That notwithstanding, he insisted that in such times, government “may cut but not cut within your social sectors especially education and health”.

Despite countries witnessing cuts, the Education Watch Director insisted that government didn’t experience a cut. As such, the money allocated to the education sector rather increased.

“…because the growth of all other sectors depends on the education sector. So, what we are saying that there have been cuts… The point we are making is that, COVID or no COVID, we have been operating far below the benchmark 20% national budgetary allocation to education”.

“We have an obligation to appreciate the fact that the reason why we have 5,000 schools under trees… are among others due to the fact that there’s inadequate infrastructure”.