Africa Education Watch, an education think tank, is calling for the government to increase the budgetary allowance for student loans in order to eliminate the financial obstacle to education in the country.
Kofi Asare, the group’s Executive Director, hopes that this would improve openness to and inclusion in schooling.
On Wednesday [April 14, 2021], at an education forum organized by Citi TV/Citi FM and the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, he stated:
“We propose that GOG raise the GETFund’s contribution to the Student Loan Trust Fund (SLTF). According to the GETFund rule, up to 10% must be assigned to the SLTF. We assume that by establishing a minimum level in the legislation, we will ensure that there is sufficient money for the loan fund, particularly given that the government is about to implement a guarantor-free scheme, which implies that we may need additional funds.”
Kofi Asare argued that, although the government has set a goal of 40% gross tertiary enrollment by 2030, up from the current rate of 18%, the loan’s disbursement at the end of the academic year undermines its very purpose.
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According to him, many students lose entry or drop out as a result of late payments, necessitating an improvement in budgetary allocation to resolve the problem.
The interactive platform, titled “Reducing Obstacles to Education Access in Ghana,” addressed ways to increase participation in Ghana’s educational sector.
Among the other resource persons at the forum were Amankwa Asiamah, Chair of Parliament’s Select Committee on Education; Michael Nsowah, a former Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES); and Joyce Larnyoh, Chair of the CSOs Platform on Sustainable Development Goal 4.
For them, the enormous physical, infrastructural, and financial obstacles continue to be a significant impediment to the integration necessary to ensure that schooling is accessible to all children of school-age.
Joyce Larnyoh, for example, was emphatic about the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the education of many, especially girls, as well as the numerous other obstacles to girls’ education.
She emphasized the importance of cooperation among related agencies as well as raising visibility in order to achieve some gains.
“This is a sizable problem, and we must approach it holistically. We should discuss these topics with any interagency cooperation and work to resolve them. My focus is on what COVID-19 has brought and the issues that have arisen around schoolgirl schooling. We must address the mantra that “we are not leaving anybody behind,” which includes disability and inclusion.
SOURCE: ATLFMONLINE
