Education Think Tank Africa Education Watch has raised concerns over GETFUND’s shift in focusing on projects that are not part of its objectives as mandated by law.
In a recent report by Africa Education Watch, it was found that a contributing factor to the deficit is GETFUND’s shift in the focus of allocating 70% of its budget to educational infrastructure projects, as required by law.
The report revealed that the fund is focusing on funding non-infrastructural projects such as scholarships and the “One teacher, one laptop policy,” among others.
These projects, the think tank indicated, are expected to be funded from the Government of Ghana budget lines and not necessarily GETFUND.
The think tank made this known during the dissemination of a scoping study report on the impact of desk deficits in public basic schools on girls’ participation in basic education in Ghana. The report revealed a steady decline in the budgetary allocation of GETFUND funds to basic infrastructure such as desks.
Across various public basic schools, a crippling issue persists. This issue, according to Africa Education Watch, is the scarcity of desks in basic schools, with a key focus on the impact on girls. This deficit in some areas has forced students to either sit on the floor or share limited seating, compromising their focus and comfort during classes.
The report added that with 72% of the funds being allocated to non-infrastructure projects like scholarships, The Senior Programmes Officer of Africa Education Watch, Divine Kpe, emphasized the pressing need for the government to reconsider this shift in budgetary focus.
According to EDUWATCH, the government will need approximately 330 million cedis to fix the desk deficit gap in the country. Given this, the think tank called on the Ministry of Education to devise a strategy for securing funds to fight the menace.
“Africa Education Watch estimates that, at a conservative rate, it will cost Ghana some GHC 330 million to address the desk deficit in public basic schools. If the current average investment of GHC 18 million continues, it will take Ghana about 18 years to address the desk deficit. Besides the GHC 330 million required to clear the desks backlog, about GH¢19 million is required to provide 54,800 desks needed each year for growth in pupil population,” the report revealed.
