GH¢10.385bn approved for GETFund projects - Focus on ongoing, abandoned projects

The Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) is to spend GH¢10.38 billion to finance education infrastructure and other mandatory activities this year. 

Out of the amount, GH¢3.20 billion would be used for the payment of arrears due contractors, ongoing projects and abandoned ones dotted around the country.

Briefing the Daily Graphic in Accra, the GETFund Administrator, Paul Adjei, said Parliament approved the budget before it rose last month.

He said their priority included the completion of 3,565 ongoing projects and other abandoned ones across all levels of education in the country.

Stages

At the basic level, 1,886 projects are expected to be completed, with 443 of them at between 70 and 99 per cent completion stage, 636 at between 30 and 69 per cent, while 807 were less than 30 per cent complete, Mr Adjei added.

He said 64 E-blocks would be worked on, 11 of which were between 70 and 99 per cent complete, with 22 between 30 and 69 per cent complete, while 31 were less than 30 per cent complete.

Also, eleven Model SHSs were at different stages of completion, with five between 70 and 99 per cent completion, while the remaining two were at 30 to 69 stages of work done.

Out of the total of 1,305 SHS projects, 494 were between 70 and 99 per cent complete, with 533 of them at between 30 and 69 per cent stage of completion, while the remaining 278 were below 30 per cent complete.

A total of 303 of such projects are earmarked for completion, with work on 94 of them at between 70 and 99 per cent complete, while 111 were between 30 and 69 per cent complete and the remaining 98 less than 30 per cent complete.

Also, arrears due contractors is GH¢106.339 million, and tertiary education GH¢1,548,095,000. For second cycle education, the fund will be spending GH¢6,789,604,000, while GH¢1,340,516,000 would go into basic education.

A total of GH¢490,650,000 would be disbursed to others, while GH¢110,400,000 would be allocated to Members of Parliament for emergency projects and monitoring.

Double track

Mr Adjei explained that the objective of the government was to completely eliminate the double track system, for which reason the completion of those projects were critical.

He expressed the hope that the 494 projects that were between 70 and 99 per cent complete would be the first to be tackled to expand access.

“The completion of those projects is necessary if the double track system is to be abolished,” the administrator said, adding that the GETFund was now responsible for funding of Free SHS.

In line with that, he said a total of GH¢3.5 billion out of the amount allocated to secondary education would be used for funding the SHS policy, while the remaining would cover projects and the other mandatory requirements.

The administrator said the fund would also take care of laboratory equipment, sanitary pads for girls in SHSs, solar charging for tablets, payment of arrears of tablets distributed to SHS/TVET students, furniture and vehicles for some schools.

Tertiary education

Mr Adjei further said that payment of fees for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) who would be gaining admission into tertiary institutions would be catered for.

He said the fund had also set aside some GH¢40 million to clear ECG Legacy Debts of universities.

For the basic education sector, the administrator said out of the over GH¢1.340 billion earmarked for the sector, GH¢701,016 million would be used for the completion and rehabilitation of projects, while the remaining funds would be spent on textbooks, furniture, mathematical sets and uniforms.

Other areas are ICT in early childhood education, white boards, payment of arrears of laptops for teachers, water and sanitation for schools (boreholes and toilets), promotion of French, and special programmes to promote girl child education in STEM, among other initiatives.