The Mid-Year Review reports encouraging progress on several flagship interventions.
Most notable is the implementation of Government's strategy to eliminate the double-track system in senior high schools.
A US$300 million World Bank-supported programme is now underway to construct ten new secondary schools, rehabilitate 150 existing schools, upgrade thirty Category C schools to Category B status, upgrade twenty Category B schools to Category A, and provide furniture and learning equipment.
Government estimates that these investments will benefit approximately 2.3 million students, 100,000 teachers and 2,000 school leaders.
The Review also highlights progress in financing basic education.
Capitation Grants for the first and second terms have been released, BECE registration fees have been paid for 478,699 candidates, and feeding grants for special schools have increased from GH¢8 to GH¢15 per learner per day.
At the tertiary level, the No Fees Stress Policy has supported 165,143 first-year students, while 1,554 students with disabilities have received tuition and residential support.
Government also reports substantial financial releases, including GH¢4.2 billion to GETFund, GH¢1.8 billion for Free Secondary Education, GH¢537 million for the No Fees Stress Policy, GH¢104 million for Teacher Trainee Allowances, GH¢76 million for the Capitation Grant, and GH¢46 million for BECE registration fees.
These figures provide evidence that major education programmes are receiving funding as planned.
Despite these positive developments, several important commitments contained in the 2026 Budget Statement are not reflected in the Mid-Year Review.
Perhaps the most significant omission concerns the ambitious basic education infrastructure programme.
The Budget committed Government to constructing 200 kindergartens, 200 primary schools, 200 junior high schools, 400 teachers' bungalows and 400 toilet facilities, with the expectation of creating access for more than 200,000 additional pupils annually.
Yet the Mid-Year Review provides no update on procurement, construction progress, funding releases or expected completion dates.
Given the scale of these investments, Parliament and the public would have expected some indication of implementation progress.
Textbooks
The same is true for the national textbook programme.
The Budget promised free curriculum-based textbooks for approximately one million kindergarten pupils, two million primary pupils and one million junior high school students, with production to be undertaken by the Ghana Publishing Company.
However, the Mid-Year Review is silent on whether procurement has commenced, contracts have been awarded, textbooks have been printed or schools have begun receiving them.
Another notable omission concerns educational logistics.
The Budget announced plans to procure two million mono desks, 200 school buses, 200 double-cabin pickup vehicles and 50 saloon vehicles to improve teaching and learning conditions.
None of these commitments receives attention in the Mid-Year Review, making it difficult to assess implementation.
Similarly, the Budget committed Government to completing 30 abandoned Community Day Senior High Schools (E-Blocks) to increase access to secondary education.
Yet no update is provided on construction progress or anticipated completion.
The proposed Science and Technology University at Damongo, expected to be supported through approximately US$60 million in Chinese financing, is also absent from the Mid-Year Review.
The comparison between the two documents reveals a broader issue.
The Budget Statement devoted considerable attention to explaining the policy challenges confronting the education sector, including infrastructure deficits, overcrowding, inequalities among secondary schools and shortages of teaching and learning materials.
By contrast, the Mid-Year Review focuses almost exclusively on expenditure releases and completed activities.
While this demonstrates financial execution, it says relatively little about whether these investments are beginning to improve access, equity, educational quality or learning outcomes.
Benefit
Future Mid-Year Reviews would therefore benefit from going beyond financial reporting to provide systematic updates on every major commitment announced in the annual budget.
Progress reports on infrastructure projects, textbook procurement, school logistics and other flagship initiatives would strengthen parliamentary oversight, improve public accountability and provide citizens with a more complete understanding of how education investments are translating into tangible results.
Ultimately, the 2026 Mid-Year Fiscal Policy Review confirms that Government has remained committed to financing education and has made measurable progress in implementing several flagship programmes.
However, the absence of updates on a number of high-profile commitments announced in the Budget Statement leaves important questions unanswered.
A more comprehensive approach to mid-year reporting would better reflect the full scope of Government's education agenda and enhance confidence in the implementation of one of Ghana's most critical sectors.
The writer is a lecturer, UCC; ED, IFEST_Ghana.
