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EDUCATION

Basic education in Ghana gets boost in the 2017 budget

Education is the main engine for the development of every nation; hence any nation that does not take issues of education especially that of basic education cannot get the needed development it yearns for.

Date Created : 11/30/2017 1:25:36 AM : Story Author : Kusi-Obuadum Brobbey/Ghanadistricts.com

To ensure that the children in Ghana get the best basic education as the future leaders, the maiden budget of His Excellency Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo has put in place pragmatic policies and programmes to boost basic education in the country.

Kindergarten education which is the starting point of basic education has been giving serious attention in the budget. A total of 1,171 primary schools are without kindergartens across the country.

In 2017 the government has put in place programmes to commence the construction of 200 Kindergartens through the working with, development partners and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) operating in the education sector.

In the year 2005 the government initiated fee free basic education with the introduction of Capitation Grant. This was to enable parents who could not afford the levies charged by schools and led to school drop- outs to reduce. The current Capitation Grant for each child in basic schools is GH?4.50.

The government in the 2017 budget has increased the grant by 100% to GH?9.00 per child per annum. To ensure equity in the disbursement of the grant, the government is to introduce equal amounts of Base Grant to be paid to all schools at the beginning of the academic year and the remaining 50% on per capita basis.

On subsidy for the registration of BECE candidates the government has made provision for the payment of 70% of BECE registration fees for both registered public and private candidates; in all 467,692 candidates will benefit from the package.

The government, according to the Finance Minister Mr. Ken Ofori Atta will absorb the BECE Registration Fees for all public Junior High Schools starting from the 2017/2018 academic year and continue to subsidize the registration fee for the private BECE candidates.

The Basic Education Social Intervention Programme that provided school uniforms and sandals has also received a boost; in 2016 209,415 and 30,000 sandals respectively, were provided to children in selected deprived communities across the country. In 2017, the government will provide 250 school uniforms and 40,000 school sandals respectively to pupils in selected deprived communities.

Finally, in the 2017 budget statement the Government will role a programme to rehabilitate or reconstruct school structures that are unsafe in 8,286 schools in the country.

Benefits

The benefits of the policies and programmes in the 2017 budget towards the development of Basic Education in Ghana are enormous; the construction of more Kindergartens will increase the that will get the chance to go to school; parents will be relieved of paying high sums of money to hire private persons to take care of their children.

The increase in the Capitation Grant will reduce the collection of unapproved fees collected from parents to supplement the grant; the payment of the BECE registration fee will also serve as a relieve to parents especially those within the poverty bracket .

In all it will facilitate the real introduction of the Free Compulsory Basic Education (FCUB) which the supreme law of the state (constitution) mandates government to implement.

The policies and programmes in the 2017 budget if well implemented will bring the quality of education all Ghanaians are yearning for their children.

Finally the introduction of the equal Base Grant of the Capitation Grant of 50% at the beginning of the academic year to all public schools will reduce the burden of getting funds to run the schools at the beginning of the academic year by the basic schools managers.