GETFund Board chair vow to solve basic school infrastructure crisis
The newly appointed Chairman of the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) Board of Trustees, Mr. Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah, has pledged to deal with the infrastructure crisis in basic schools currently confronting the educational sector.
The Member of Parliament for the Ho West constituency in the Volta region made the vow shortly after he assumed this additional role last week.
In his acceptance speech, Mr. Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah also said he considers his appointment as the chairman of the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) Board a privilege to serve the country.
According to the Ho Member of Parliament, his appointment is a call to duty at such a crucial time when the infrastructural gap and funding in our public schools have become topical.
Mr Bedzrah highlighted the immense contributions made by the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) to the educational sector since its establishment and reiterated the need to sustain its operations.
“Hon. Minister, you will recall the infamous “Mobrowa” struggle at the University of Ghana in 1999 when the issue of cost sharing was introduced at the tertiary level of education in Ghana.
This culminated in the establishment of the Ghana Education Trust Fund as an innovative approach to funding not only Tertiary but public education in general.
The Fund has since contributed immensely, in exponential terms, to the country’s educational infrastructure while supporting thousands of Ghanaians to study with ease without contemplating how to fund their education using the GETFUND Scholarship scheme,” Mr Bedzrah recalled.
The GETFund Board Chairman applauded the John Dramani Mahama-led government for uncapping the fund that was capped under the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo-led New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration.
Relatedly, the Minister for Education, Honourable Haruna Iddrisu, has inaugurated a 17-member Board of Trustees for the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) at a ceremony held at the Fund’s headquarters in East Legon.
The Board consists of representatives from the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Finance, the Ghana Education Service, the Ghana Revenue Authority, the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission and the Ghana National Association of Teachers.
Also part of the Ghana Education Trust Fund Board are representatives from Ghana Bankers Association, Ghana Insurers Association, NPRA, Christian Council, Association of Ghana Industries and Ghana Employers Association.
The members are Masawudu Mahama, representing the Ministry of Finance; Rev. Dr Cyril Gershon Kwao Fayose, representing the Christian Council; Anthony Kwasi Sarpong from the Revenue Agencies Governing Board; GETFund Administrator, Paul Adjei; Mamle D. Andrews from the Ministry of Education; Professor Ahmed Abdulai Jinapor from the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), and Rev. Prof. John Frank Eshun, representing the technical universities.
Others are Philippa Larson of the Ghana National Association of Teachers; Daniel Nii Korley Botchway, representing the Ghana National Union of Polytechnic Students; Grace Amey Obeng from the Association of Ghana Industries: Francisca Atuluk, a female representative from the National Council on Women and Development; Alexander Frimpong from the Ghana Employers’ Association, and Prof. Ernest Kofi Davis from the Ghana Education Service.
The rest are the three representatives of the established financial institutions, namely John Awuah from the Ghana Bankers Association; Seth Kobla Aklasi from the Ghana Insurers Association, and Patience Ablah Ganyo from the National Pensions Regulatory Authority.
The new Board is expected to play a central role in addressing infrastructure deficits, promoting equitable access to tertiary education, and supporting research and innovation through sustained and transparent funding.
