Parliament has approved the revised 2023 Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) Formula for the distribution of GH¢1,869,563,000.
This year’s allocation, which is a reduction of over 28% compared to that of 2022, was made in accordance with the GETFund Act 2000, Act 581 as amended by Act 972, and the Earmarked Funds Capping and Realignment Act 2017, Act 947.
For the period, 7.84%, representing GH¢170 million, has been allocated to the tertiary sub-sector of the total expected inflow from the national budget for 2023 to support a range of activities and interventions.
The secondary sub-sector was also allocated 28.44%, representing GH¢617 million, of the total spending from the budget, while a total allocation of GH¢88.5 million (4.08%) was allocated for the procurement of basic education textbooks.
An amount of GH¢31.625 million was also allocated to MPs to enable them monitor and undertake projects in their constituencies.
The funding allocations are made based on the Government’s Annual Budget Statement and Economic Policy approved by Parliament for each fiscal year.
The Committee of the Whole, which approved the revised formula, observed that total inflows for the year 2022 amounted to GH¢2,728 billion.
This is made up of the amount of GH¢1,814,476,383.30 received from budgetary allocation and GH¢913,663,971.70 and GH¢913,663,971.70 received from Daakye Bond proceeds.
For the year 2022, GETFund undertook a number of projects, the Committee indicated, and added that some of the projects and programmes are at various stages of completion.
They include the construction and completion of academic facilities in the various public tertiary institutions; construction and rehabilitation of dormitories, classrooms, dining halls and other facilities at various Senior High Schools; supply of classroom furniture as well as beds and mattresses to various schools; and sponsorship of students to pursue various programmes both locally and abroad.
The Committee observed that in 2022, the Fund put in place a three-year project aimed at completing all of its abandoned projects.
As at December 31, 2022, a total of 2,405 projects had been completed during the period under review.
These projects were financed mainly from the disbursements of the bond proceeds and the enhanced monitoring activities undertaken.
By Ernest Kofi Adu, Parliament House