Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, a former Deputy Minister of Education, has said the Akufo-Addo-led government is struggling to finance the free Senior High School programme, hence the establishment of the Voluntary Education Fund.
The government of Ghana on Wednesday revealed that it will set up a trust to receive donations from the public to support education in Ghana.
“In 2018, the Ministry will work with GETFund to set up this education fund to enable Ghanaians make voluntary contributions to support education,” Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta told parliament when he delivered the 2018 Budget and Economic Policy Statement to parliament on the theme: “Putting Ghana Back to Work”.
According to Mr Ofori-Atta, “government has received proposals from the public, several of which encourage the establishment of a fund to receive voluntary contributions to support education”.
For him, “the GETfund law allows for the setting up of other education-related funds”, so, government will pursue the initiative to improve education in the country. This comes on the heels of the Free Senior High School (SHS) initiative which started in September 2017.
Commenting on this initiative on his Facebook page, Mr Ablakwa, who is also Member of Parliament for North Tongu, said: “Is this not an admission that Government is struggling to fund and sustain Free SHS? Why is our suggestion for a targeted intervention based on a needs assessment across all three cohorts being ignored in favour of this backdoor approach?
“Will the expected volunteering parents prefer to pay into a remote fund where they are unsure if their wards will ever benefit instead of paying to schools directly? While at this, matters are compounded by the failure of the 2018 budget to put forward a radical programme to address the major challenges of the current implementation of Free SHS.
“Let's see how this pans out, however, it's obvious we need some degree of sincerity and candour in how we move forward. It's our education, our country and our children's future. We must rise above the partisanship when education is at stake.”
Source: classfmonline.com
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Ablakwa, the NPP government is struggling as Mills Struggled to get your withholding Legon Certificate for you, yet you became a minister. Ahaame.
eeh NPP! Is your free SHS sustainable? Our children's education is in danger.So with this fund if NPP is removed from power will the donors continue to contribute towards the fund? NPP should come out with more sustainable programmes
So all those headmasters who had open their doors to the media for voluntary support from the public did wrong i guess. What a country we live in, wow Ama GHANA "The government of Ghana on Wednesday revealed that it will set up a trust to receive donations from the public to support education in Ghana"
I wish the various people commenting will think thru whatever they wish to comment. Ghana is indeed collapsing Thanks Marks for a good comment
NPPigs continue with your ignorance about the volume of money needed to fund SHS. Imagine parents whose children attends St. Martin De Pores, St. Benardit, Seven Great, Alpha Beta, Jack and Jill etc with fees not less than GHS 1,500.00 per term and you want to pay fees at SHS free for such parents, indeed it does not add up or make sense
No lasting glory is won without struggle Mr. MP
Is there anything wrong in struggling? Life would have been easier if the previous government had left a healthy balance sheet and a cash flow for the current govt
Ablakwa, you are right the govt is struggling to fund free education, and so what. If your child has to go to the university and you send him there and are struggling to fund it, is it a crime. I struggled to go to work this morning but I have to because I've no choice. Right things have to be done irrespective of struggles & challenges
So what?i even believe that apart from establishing this fund to aid education the government should go one step further and tax all companies and then individuals and call it the Free educational policy tax.you should have even done this the moment the policy was floated.The Free SHS cannot fail pls let all well meaning Ghanaians help in this direction.I commend this government for this initiative.
See this muumu? You think once you cannot do anything no or equally do it. There are people who are selfless and want to give for ''this government to succced unlike your government which was characterised by create, loot and share.