Atiwa East Member of Parliament, Abena Osei Asare, has called on the government to review the use of Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) allocations for senior high school feeding programmes, arguing that the practice is diverting resources from the Fund’s primary responsibility of financing educational infrastructure.
Speaking in Parliament, the former Deputy Finance Minister raised concerns after the Minister of Education disclosed that 42 per cent of GETFund’s allocation is currently being used to support feeding at the senior high school level.
While acknowledging the importance of providing meals for students, Ms Osei Asare said the arrangement risks undermining efforts to address the country’s significant infrastructure challenges within the education sector.
“Mr Speaker, it is good that students are fed while they are in school,” she said. “However, that is not the core mandate of GETFund. The Fund was established primarily to support the development of educational infrastructure.”
The Atiwa East MP noted that many school projects across the country remain incomplete because of inadequate funding. Drawing on her engagements with pre-tertiary institutions and visits to various regions, she said the scale of unfinished educational infrastructure remains a major concern.
“As we speak, there are outstanding uncompleted infrastructure projects valued at between GH¢8 billion and GH¢10 billion,” she told Parliament.
She questioned how the government intends to complete these projects if a substantial portion of GETFund’s resources continues to be channelled into school feeding.
“If 42 per cent of the allocation is being spent on an area outside its core mandate, then we must ask how much remains available to complete these critical infrastructure projects,” she said.
Ms Osei Asare proposed that the government consider alternative funding sources for the feeding programme, allowing GETFund resources to be directed towards school infrastructure as originally intended.
“We can find other revenue streams to support this important programme, but funds meant for educational infrastructure through GETFund should not be used for that purpose,” she argued.
She also appealed to the Majority Leader and the Finance Minister to revisit the issue during preparations for the 2027 Budget Statement.
“We are appealing to the Majority Leader and the Finance Minister to take a closer look at this matter and ensure that GETFund receives adequate allocations when the 2027 budget is presented in November,” she said.
According to her, increased funding is needed not only to complete ongoing and abandoned projects but also to provide the Ministry of Education with the resources required to effectively fulfil its mandate.
She reiterated that while student welfare remains important, investment in school infrastructure should not be compromised.
“I appreciate the need to feed students, but that responsibility should be funded from other sources. GETFund must be allowed to focus on its core mandate of supporting educational infrastructure,” she said.
Ms Osei Asare concluded by urging the Minister of Education to respond to the concerns she had raised regarding the current allocation of GETFund resources.