GETFund asked to review practice of using limited funds to sponsor students abroad
Despite its limited resources, the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) has the practice of sponsoring students to universities in foreign countries at costs for one student that could cover the cost for many more students in Ghana.
Presenting a paper at a Policy Dialogue on the title: “Making the GETFund fit for Purpose”, held Tuesday October 31, 2023, at the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences (GAAS), Prof Abednego Feehi Oko Amartey of the University of Professional Studies said the practice where limited resources are used to sponsor students for higher education in foreign countries using limited, scarce foreign resources and further deepening the balance of payment deficit of the GETFund, needs to be reviewed.
When the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) was established 23 years ago, the aim was to fund education in the country. The burden of financing education in general and tertiary education in particular have become unbearable for the country, and the GETFund was seen as a source of relief.
The Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences (GAAS) argues that funding for higher education in Ghana has suffered perennial challenges including inadequate government subventions, infrastructural and equipment deficits, and unreliable revenue streams.
At its third dialogue under the topic: “Policy Dialogue on Making the GETFund fit for Purpose”, held Tuesday October 31, 2023, Prof Abednego Feehi Oko Amartey of the University of Professional Studies, Accra, presented a paper outlining the realities of financing public higher education and how the GETFund has become one of the sources of financing education in the country.
Prof Amartey pointed out the fact that financing public higher education institutions in Ghana is highlighted in discussions because in recent times government funding of the sector has declined.
“This decline is mostly manifested in several areas, including total public expenditure on higher education, per student expenditure, public higher education expenditure’s share of the country’s national income or total government budget expenditure, and inadequate research funding,” he said.
He noted that in light of higher education financing challenges in the country, the GETFund was established in 2000 by the Ghana Education Trust Fund Act, 2000, Act 581.
Prof Amartey went on to give an assessment of the scope of the GETFund’s role in building a sustainable higher education enterprise in Ghana.
He further highlighed some of the challenges facing the GETFund and outlined recommendations that could help address these challenges and make the GETFund fit for purpose.
Prof Amartey stated that GETFund was primarily established to provide funding to supplement government budgetary allocations at all levels of education.
The Act specifies how the monies from the Fund must be expended as follows:
- a) To provide financial support to the agencies and institutions under the Ministry of Education, through the Ministry, for the development and maintenance of essential academic facilities and infrastructure in public educational institutions, particularly, in tertiary institutions;
- b) To provide supplementary funding to the Scholarship Secretariat for the grant of scholarships to gifted but needy students for studies in second cycle and accredited tertiary institutions in Ghana;
- c) To contribute monies from the Fund towards the operation of student loans schemes for students in accredited tertiary institutions through loan scheme mechanisms and agencies, approved by the Minister;
d) To provide, through the National Council on Tertiary Education, grants to tertiary institutions, - To train brilliant students as members of faculties;
- To undertake research and other academic programs of relevance to national development;
- e) To provide monies to support such other educational activities and programmes for the promotion of education as the Minister in consultation with the Board may determine.
He noted the fact that despite the immense contribution of the GETFund to staff (faculty) development, scholarships, and infrastructural development in higher education institutions (HEIs) across the country, there still remains a huge funding gap in infrastructural development in public HEIs.
“This calls for a need to assess how the GETFund has carried out its mandate, and how it can further contribute to the funding of these HEIs, given the recent increase in the number of public HEIs and student enrolment numbers,” he said.
Prof Amartey explained that the structure of costs of higher education in Ghana is influenced by the size of available funding from government and donor agencies.
“Higher education in Ghana used to be free up until the mid-1990s when as a result of high expenditure for higher education, government could not absorb the increasing expenditure due to increased student enrolment. In view of this, the Akosombo Accord in 1997 accepted the cost-sharing model of funding higher education in Ghana,” he said.
Explaining the breakdown of the responsibility of funding public higher education, he said
Government took on 70% payment of funding needs of tertiary education institutions, whiule public universities mobilised the remaining 30% funding requirements from three other sources including; internal revenue-generation by the university; private donations, and students’ academic facility user fees.
He further said the Ministry of Finance, through the Ministry of Education, has the responsibility of determining and approving fund allocations to HEIs annual expenditure items.
“In public universities in Ghana, these expenditure items are categorised as staff compensation, administration, services, and investment. The Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) coordinates and monitors the annual budget design and implementation in higher education institutions. The introduction and implementation of a cost-sharing model for funding tertiary education in 1997 put a cost burden on students in relation to the academic and residential facilities user fees,” he added.
Prof Amartey said in response to the cost burden on students and to address the inequalities in access to tertiary education, the government established the Student Loan Trust Fund in 2005 to manage the student loan scheme.
Stating the role of the Fund’s Board, in managing the collection, accounting, and investment of the fund in accordance with the objective of the GETFund Act 581, 2000, he said the Act 581 also requires the Board to be independent and also adopt innovative approaches in organising fund-raising activities to raise money for the fund.
“However, the independence of the Board is questioned, given the subtle interference from government. Also, the over-reliance on government for funds is a limitation to the operations of the GETFund, given the increasing number of public higher education institutions. This has often resulted in delays in receiving funds from government leading to several operational constraints,” he said.
According to Prof Amartey, among other things the Fund is designed to provide academic facilities and infrastructure to public institutions; contribute money to support student loan scheme; provide supplementary funding for needy students through the scholarship secretariat; and support faculty development and research.
“The GETFund contributes about 10% to 12.9% of government expenditure in tertiary education institutions. It engineered the creation and establishment of the Student Loan Trust Fund (SLTF) in 2005 under the Trustee Incorporation Act 1962, Act 106. It continues to provide a major source of funding to the SLTF, to cover both loan disbursement and operational expenses through its annual allocation,” he said.
While acknowledging that the Fund has made some contributions in the areas of infrastructure; student development and support; faculty research and development; support for mathematics, science, and technical education; and a robust support to the Ministry of Education and its agencies, he pointed out that there are challenges that require innovative means to address.
He noted the following challenges with the Fund; the payment of the Fund’s debt and commitments which have been pending for many years.
He also pointed out that from the initial focus on tertiary education, the GETFund now devotes a large proportion of its resources to the pre-tertiary levels.
He said the practice where limited resources are used to sponsor students for higher education in foreign countries using limited, scarce foreign resources and further deepening the balance of payment deficit needs to be reviewed.
He stated that the lack of independence and over-reliance on government for funding has often times caused delays and other budgetary constraints.
“The passage (enactment) of the Earmarked Funds Capping and Realignment Act 2017, Act 947 has significantly affected the resource envelope of the GETFund,” he said.
He made the following recommendations urging that efforts should be made to introduce efficiency, reduce waste, and create value within the administration of the fund.
“The GETFund model requires a review to make it more effective and fit for purpose. The current 2.5% VAT allocated to the GETFund is considered inadequate to support the Fund and should be reviewed upwards, given the increasing student enrolment numbers in public HEIs as well as the number of projects undertaken across the various university campuses,” he said.
He also suggested that the GETFund should have a template that puts more emphasis on HEIs than the pre-tertiary sector, adding that the current 12% fund allocation to public HEIs is inadequate.
By Emmanuel K Dogbevi
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