Africa Education Watch, an education think tank, is advocating for a comprehensive student loan system to replace the distribution of allowances and feeding grants to trainees in public colleges of education.
The payment of approximately GH67 million to public colleges of education to clear six-month food arrears has stirred controversy concerning the elimination of feeding grants and allowances granted to teacher trainees.
Some members of the public believe that now that colleges have been elevated to university status, such subsidies should be discontinued. The allowance, which had been superseded by the student loan system in 2016, was reinstated in 2017 by the New Patriotic Party government.
Speaking on the matter, Kofi Asare, Executive Director of Africa Education Watch, stated that the only way out of the quagmire is to strengthen the student loan system.
“If you look at the issue from the physical perspective, the government already had systems working to solve these problems; the student loan. We haven’t made the student loan a responsive one. The student loan scheme has not been able to disburse monies to those who have applied and have not even given the opportunity to others to apply. The reason is that GETFund has also not been able to release monies to them.”
He also urged the government to give the necessary facilities to Colleges of Education that have been elevated to the status of universities.
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SOURCE: CITINEWS
