Free education for children in special schools in the offing — Minister

A proposal to ensure free education for learners in special and integrated schools across the country is in the offing.

The policy would include the provision of devices for persons who are visually impaired and those with hearing difficulties.

There would also be a nationwide provision of modern assistive technology devices, enhanced nutritional support and sustained capacity building for teachers within the special education ecosystem.

In line with that, a comprehensive policy paper has been presented to the Cabinet to consider the proposal, the Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has said.

"If I get the support of the President and Cabinet, for which I trust I have, from January 1, 2026, we should be able to provide for the needs of all learners with special needs in the country,” the minister added.

Mr Iddrisu was speaking at a 2026 Education Budget press briefing in Accra yesterday to provide clarity and insight into what the budget meant for the education sector.

Feeding

The minister also said that school feeding would be extended to all special needs and integrated schools in the country.

"For me, that would be the best intervention of meeting the needs of distressed and marginalised learners in the provision of educational,” he said.

Mr Iddrisu said he had directed the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) to make a minimum of GH¢ 65 million to support the initiative for learners with special needs.

He said GETFund would now be responsible for financing the free senior high school, free tertiary education for all persons who are challenged and free education for persons with special needs.

"All we are doing is to offload the financing from the Consolidated Fund into GETFund. The budget this year was bold, strategic and forward-looking. 

Statement

On November 13, 2025, the Minister of Finance presented the 2026 Budget Statement and Economic Policy to Parliament.

The budget, Mr Iddrisu said, came at a pivotal moment when global economic uncertainties, demographic pressures and technological shifts demand that “we rethink not just how we educate, but how we finance and sustain an inclusive, high-quality education system.”

He said he was currently reviewing a paper and a proposal from the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF), the GETFund, the Ghana Education Occupational Pension (GESOP) and the Teachers Union, and that “we intend to embark on a provision of 50,000 housing units for teachers under that combined efforts”.

“What we need is to identify what the funding mechanism will be for the delivery,” the minister added.

Mr Iddrisu further directed the Procurement Unit of the GES to ensure they add sanitary facilities whenever they undertake any procurement of classrooms and dormitories, adding that “currently across the country, we have an unsatisfactory state of many sanitary facilities”.

For the 2026 financial year, the minister said his outfit had been allocated some GH¢ 39.23 billion to deliver its planned programmes and interventions across basic, secondary and tertiary education.

Out of the amount, GH¢ 33.76 billion would come from the government, GH¢ 3.68 billion from internally generated funds and GH¢ 1.8 billion from development partners through loans and grants.

“This allocation represents a 23.5 per cent increase over the 2025 approved budget. It reflects the government’s strong commitment to expanding access, improving quality and strengthening the foundation of the nation’s human capital development.

In addition, GETFund had been allocated GH¢ 9.9 billion, including GH¢ 4.2 billion earmarked for Free SHS and Free TVET infrastructure and services.

“As in the case in many countries, compensation of employees - teachers, non-teaching staff and education service workers continue to take a significant share of the sector budget, accounting for 83.8 per cent of the allocation,” he said.

The minister said education remains the nation’s largest employer, and that the government remains committed to supporting and sustaining the education workforce.