Category A SHSs infrastructure to be expanded with ¢300m – MoE

The Ministry of Education (MoE) has requested additional GH¢300 million in funding from the Ministry of Finance (MoF) for the expansion of infrastructure in Category A Senior High Schools (SHSs) across the country.

The move aimed to improve learning conditions and accommodate more students, follows the high demand for school placement into top second-cycle schools by Junior High School (JHSs) graduates.

The GH¢300 million funding expected to reflect in the 2026 budget for the intended infrastructure expansion is also meant to double the current intake into such second-cycle schools.

Speaking at the opening of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG)’s 22nd Biennial Congress, at Aburi in the Eastern Region, the Education Minister said, “All of us want our wards in the best schools, justifiably so. But are we investing in expanding infrastructure in the Category ‘A’ schools?

The Minister for Education added, “Only this morning, I made a request to the Minister of Finance for an additional financing of GH¢300 million to be dedicated to expanding facilities in Category ‘A’ schools.

Citing Achimota School, Wesley Girls SHS, Mfantsipim School, Adisadel College, Presbyterian Boys SHS, and Tamale SHS as examples, Mr Iddrisu said the schools had good assets, which should make it possible “to double” their intake.

Mr Haruna said additional classrooms and dedicated teachers, among a few other things, are needed, adding that “Government needs to invest in the infrastructure, but more for equitable, inclusive, quality education.”

“So, while spending GH¢300 million on Category ‘A’ schools, I’ll commit GH¢500 million to GH¢1 billion to other infrastructure across the country,” he said at the UTAG’s 22nd Biennial Congress.

Commenting on this year’s teachers recruitment, the Education Minister said he was working to get clearance from the Ministry of Finance for additional recruitment into institutions of higher learning.

The education space alone, he said, would require 93,000 recruitments to fill vacancies both for institutions of higher learning, relevant commissions, and the Ghana Education Service, among others.

The Minister assured lecturers that the Book and Research Allowance would be paid, saying the government had committed GH¢610 million for it, nearly a 50 per cent increase on last year’s GH¢408 million for that purpose.

“We will honour book and research allowance,” the Tamale South Member of Parliament and Education Minister emphasised, saying the National Research Fund had been established with $5 million committed to it.

Relatedly, Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has said the central government is moving swiftly to expand the limited availability of boarding facilities in various second-cycle schools to address challenges associated with this year’s second-cycle school placement.

Speaking to journalists, the Education Minister said discussions are ongoing with the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) to create additional space for boarding students in order to ease the pressure on parents and candidates.

The Education Minister explained that the demand for places in top schools far outweighs available facilities, making it impossible to accommodate every successful candidate in Category A institutions.

“But to all this, it just says that the government needs to invest more to expand infrastructure. If Achimota got two additional dormitory blocks and two additional state-of-the-art classrooms, it will double its intake. But the question is, have we invested in them? We have not. So don’t expect that all of a sudden we’ll be able to place people adequately,” Mr. Iddrisu added.

The Minister for Education disclosed that the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) leadership has been tasked to provide a list of schools where extra facilities could be secured in the short term.