President-Elect Mahama Calls For National Forum, Says ‘Ghana’s Education Sector Is In Crisis’

President-elect John Mahama has expressed serious concerns about the financial struggles affecting Ghana’s education sector, from basic to tertiary levels.

During a meeting with stakeholders in the education field, he stated the critical need for a sustainable funding model, and warned that inconsistent financial support is undermining the system.

“At the last count, 1.3 million Ghanaian children at the basic level do not have basic furniture to sit and study. And so we have a crisis at the basic level,” Mahama stated.

He further criticized inefficiencies in the implementation of the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy, remarking, “Even though a lot of money is going to the secondary level, it does not come from a dedicated fund, and there is a lot of waste and inefficiency in the way it is being spent.”

Regarding tertiary education, Mahama pointed to the declining effectiveness of the GETFund as a major issue. He explained, “

The GETFund, which was a good source of funding, has been collateralised.

Sixty per cent of it has been spent in advance, leaving only 40 per cent to address infrastructure across the educational value chain.”To tackle these challenges, Mahama proposed organizing a National Education Review Conference to address bottlenecks and devise a reliable funding system.

He asserted, “We should hold a consultative forum to identify all the bottlenecks and craft a sustainable funding model.”

This call for action underscores Mahama’s commitment to addressing the deep-rooted challenges within Ghana’s education sector.