The Minister of Education Hon. Haruna Iddrisu recently unveiled a comprehensive plan for improving Ghana’s education sector.
Speaking on key policy initiatives, he emphasized curriculum reforms, infrastructure development, and efforts to address disparities between northern and southern Ghana.
Haruna Iddrisu underscored the need for a curriculum review from preschool to junior high school. He noted that the government is prioritizing access to updated textbooks and instructional materials. A major concern is the lack of resources for teaching local languages, which are essential for early childhood education.
“If you have a child, go to school for the first time, you cannot necessarily insist that the child learns English immediately. The child has to start from the native language and then gradually get warmed up into English.’’
Hon. Haruna Iddrisu Miniter of Education
Despite the compulsory teaching of local languages, he admitted that Ghana lacks sufficient writers and teaching materials for many languages, including Ga, Ewe, Hausa, and Twi. He said, “We have to encourage people to write so that we have some texts at the local level.’’
Haruna Iddrisu acknowledged the struggles parents face in teaching their children local languages due to the dominance of foreign content on digital platforms.
“The content on which our children are socialized is not curated locally. Platforms like YouTube are shaping our children’s language exposure, and we need to invest in our digital content.’’
“If it is innovative enough, you may be lucky to get donor support and funding. But government itself must be interested in investing in it.”
Hon. Haruna Iddrisu Miniter of Education
Funding and Research in Education
Haruna Iddrisu further expressed concern about the heavy reliance on external funding for research at Ghana’s universities.
“Of all the research we have to do to position Ghana and drive growth, almost all funding is coming from external sources. It is only one project that had Ghanaian funding from KGL Foundation.’’
Hon. Haruna Iddrisu Miniter of Education
To address this, he announced a new initiative under the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund).
“This year, GETFund will finance five local PhD scholarships per public tertiary institution. We should be able to train our own faculty here instead of always sending students abroad.’’
Hon. Haruna Iddrisu Miniter of Education
He also indicated that GETFund will provide financial support for research and young Ghanaian scholars to ensure the sustainability of local academia.
Infrastructure remains a significant challenge, particularly in junior high schools. The Minister pointed out that many schools still lack proper facilities, leading to substandard learning conditions.
“There are 759 schools that require urgent infrastructure intervention. It is unacceptable that thirty years after the 1992 Constitution, Ghana has not attained free, compulsory, universal basic education.’’
Hon. Haruna Iddrisu Miniter of Education
He also raised concerns about inconsistencies in student enrollment figures used to justify resource allocation under the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy.
“When the [former] President says 5.1 million Ghanaians have benefited from free SHS, the data I have reviewed suggests the actual number is around 3.7 million. Were textbooks and food being supplied based on 5.1 million or 3.7 million?”
Hon. Haruna Iddrisu Miniter of Education
Redefining Universal Basic Education
The Minister acknowledged that the Free SHS policy had expanded access to education but argued that the focus should shift from quantity to quality. He pointed out that former President Nana Akufo-Addo’s policy effectively redefined universal basic education to include secondary education.
While this expansion has increased literacy, he cautioned that producing literate individuals is not the same as developing a skilled and competent workforce.
“A literate population is not the same thing as quality human capital. We must ensure that graduates from the University of Ghana can compete with those from Princeton, Yale, or Oxford.’’
Hon. Haruna Iddrisu Miniter of Education
Haruna Iddrisu highlighted the disparity between rural and urban education quality, as well as the north-south divide in education outcomes.
“More quality education exists in urban areas than in rural areas, and in the southern parts of Ghana than in the north, including Western North and the Oti Region. We must work to correct this.’’
Hon. Haruna Iddrisu Miniter of Education
He also expressed disappointment that 5,000 schools are still operating under trees, calling it a national embarrassment.
During a visit to the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) in Ho, Iddrisu discovered that a GETFund project, started in 2014, had been abandoned despite being near completion. He criticized the previous government for neglecting projects initiated by previous administrations.
This, he noted, contradicts the directive principles of state policy, which mandate the completion of projects regardless of which government initiated them.
The Minister acknowledged the importance of technical and vocational education (TVET) but revealed that many TVET projects remain unfinished due to funding constraints.
“Government borrowed €58 million for TVET development, but due to the debt exchange program, the projects have stalled. Many are only 32% to 40% completed.’’
”We must invest in education not just to produce literate individuals, but to develop skilled, competent human capital that can compete globally.”
Hon. Haruna Iddrisu Miniter of Education
Haruna Iddrisu’s address underscored the critical issues facing Ghana’s education sector, from curriculum reform and early childhood development to infrastructure and funding gaps.
His call for increased government investment, curriculum standardization, and equitable access to education highlights the urgent need for reforms.
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