Hot Source……Demands debate on feeding and fee-free support
Education minister Haruna Iddrisu, has cautioned that the government must review how resources are channelled to teacher training colleges, warning against what he calls “duplication” in funding as the new No Fee Stress policy is rolled out.
Speaking at the inauguration of governing councils of colleges of education in Accra, Mr Iddrisu, said the state already shoulders significant costs through trainee allowances and boarding facilities.
Extending the No Fee Stress programme to these institutions, he argued, would overstretch the budget.
“We cannot elevate you into university colleges and still be feeding you,” Haruna said, adding, “If you are a university, you are a university. Let’s have a national conversation. If we have to improve allowances, we should, but we cannot sustain both feeding and fee-free support.”
The No Fee Stress initiative was introduced to ease the financial burden on first-year tertiary students.
Mr Iddrisu, however, questioned whether its application to teacher training colleges, where trainees already receive stipends, was prudent.
The Minister disclosed that the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) has earmarked $410 million this year for stalled infrastructure projects, in addition to funding for faculty development.
Additionally, the government spends billions of cedis annually on book and research allowances for colleges and universities.
He stated that expenditure on book and research allowances alone rose from GHC 428 million last year to a projected GHC 712 million this year. “This does not even cover salaries,” he stressed, underscoring the fiscal strain.
Mr Iddrisu suggested that Ghana dedicate a fixed percentage of petroleum revenues to human capital development.
According to him, allocating 2.5% of oil revenue could finance scholarships and cushion the No Fee Stress programme in the long term, rather than leaving it at the mercy of the national budget.
“We must look for a sustainable way to deal with this. Otherwise, every year we will be forced to find GHC400 to GHC500 million just to keep No Fee Stress alive,” he warned.
The Minister reiterated the government’s intention to upgrade public colleges of education into autonomous university colleges, a move he said would require new legislation. But he cautioned that such elevation must come with reforms in financing, governance and student support systems.
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