Africa Education Watch has protested the budget allocation of GH¢1.8 billion made to the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) as stated in the 2023 budget statement presented to Parliament.

The core mandate of the GETFund is to provide funding to supplement government efforts for the provision of educational infrastructure and facilities within the public sector from the pre-tertiary to the tertiary level.

According to a petition submitted to Parliament by the Education Policy Research and Advocacy Organisation, the current allocation is scanty and won't do enough to close the infrastructure gap in the education sector.

Eduwatch mentioned that there are over 5,000 schools existing under trees, sheds and dilapidated structures, while 1.2 million children are not in basic school, among others due to the lack of public basic schools in underserved communities.

“The widening infrastructure gap constricts the realisation of the objectives of the government’s free Compulsory Universal Basic Education under section 38(2) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.

“It is therefore unfortunate to learn that, not only did the Finance Minister fail to uncap the GETFund, but this year’s allocation is the lowest percentage of accruals in the history of the Fund, raising questions about the legal basis for allocating only 39% of GETFund Levy accruals to the GETFund,” portions of the petition dated December 14 read.

The organisation is of the assertion that at least GH¢2.7 billion, representing 60% of the total 2022 GETFund Levy accruals of GH¢4.6 billion, should be allocated to the GETFund for 2023.

In view of the challenges highlighted above, has entreated Parliament to “reject the allocation and cause the Minister of Finance to review the weights applied in allocating the GETFund.”

This, the institution says, must be in line with the Earmarked Funds Capping and Realignment Act, 2017 (Act 947), and the increasing infrastructure gap in the education sector, especially basic education.

Eduwatch insists the Legislature must rectify the continuous decline in the allocation to the GETFund, despite a consistent increment in the GETFund Levy.

Source: The Independent Ghana