Ahead of the Mid-Year Review of the 2023 Financial Year's Budget Statement and Supplementary Estimates to Parliament, the Executive Director of Africa Education Watch (EduWatch), Mr. Kofi Asare, is advocating for a 100% increment in the Capitation Grant for basic schools nationwide.

This measure, he believes, will address the challenges associated with achieving universal education in the country.

During an Economic Forum in Accra, Mr. Asare emphasized the need for the capitation grant to be raised from ¢10 to ¢20.

“We expect to hear a 100% increment in the capitation grant from ¢10 to ¢20,” he said. “We also want an assurance from the Finance Minister that the disbursement regime where the grant is disbursed as a token ends and that there is a clear disbursement roadmap to assure stakeholders that the grant will not be in arrears.”

Additionally, he called for an assurance from the Finance Minister that the current disbursement regime, where the grant is provided as a token, will be replaced with a clear disbursement roadmap to prevent delays.

“We also want to hear from the Ministry of Finance about plans to pay the arrears that have accumulated over the years. There are headteachers who have taken loans to run schools, and they are owing in their communities. We don’t want to encourage that,” he added.

Addressing the issue of accumulated arrears, Mr. Asare urged the Ministry of Finance to outline plans for settling these outstanding payments.

Many headteachers have been burdened with loans to run schools, leading to debts in their communities, a situation that EduWatch seeks to discourage.

Furthermore, Mr. Asare highlighted the urgent need for the government to announce a supplementary budget to support the provision of desks in schools.

The lack of desks has been a significant challenge in the education sector, affecting over two million children.

He emphasized the importance of real commitment in the supplementary budget to address this pressing issue and support the procurement of desks through the GETFund Formula.

“One of the biggest challenges in the education sector is the issue of desks. Over two million children have been struggling with the issue of desks. We’ve seen some efforts by some stakeholders, district assemblies, and others to support, but the most recent data we have from the Ministry of Education suggests that we need one million desks. So we want to see some real commitment made in the supplementary budget to support the limited amount of funding that was made available for the procurement of desks in the GETFund Formula,” he added.