Chairman of Parliament’s Finance Committee and Member of Parliament for Bolgatanga Central, Isaac Adongo, has dismissed claims by the Minority that the government is seeking to borrow money to finance the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) programme, insisting that the proposed $300 million World Bank loan facility is intended to strengthen and expand secondary education infrastructure and improve access across the country.
According to the legislator, the loan has been designed to address longstanding challenges within Ghana’s secondary education sector, including eliminating the double-track system, upgrading existing schools, improving the quality of education and expanding access for more students.
His remarks came in response to criticisms from the Minority in Parliament, who argued that the loan request exposed the government’s inability to effectively manage the country’s finances less than a year after Ghana exited the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.
The Minority had suggested that the government was borrowing to sustain the implementation of the Free SHS policy, a claim Isaac Adongo firmly rejected during deliberations on the loan agreement in Parliament on Tuesday, July 21.
“Mr. Speaker, it is important to indicate that there is no loan agreement before this House to finance Free SHS. Mr. Speaker, what we are considering is a loan agreement that is meant to improve access to free secondary education, to ensure that we eliminate the double-track, provide more opportunities for Grade C schools to be upgraded to Grade B and for Grade B to be upgraded to Grade A.”
Providing Parliament with a detailed breakdown of the proposed financing arrangement, Mr. Adongo outlined how the funds would be distributed across the various components of the project.
“An amount of $257.7 million has been allocated to component one, which focuses on increasing equitable access to secondary education. Component two, which is improving the quality and relevance of secondary education, has been allocated $33.8 million.
“Mr. Speaker, Component 3 strengthens systems, communication and evidence-based decision-making, and Mr. Speaker, $8.5 million has been allocated for this purpose. Mr. Speaker, the Government of Ghana will be providing $23 million counterpart funding to fully implement this project.”
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