Influence 20% public budget allocation to Education Ministry – Eduwatch to Haruna Iddrisu
Influence 20% public budget allocation to Education Ministry – Eduwatch to Haruna Iddrisu
Kofi Asare, the Executive Director of Africa Education Watch, has called for a significant increase in the national education budget following the nomination of Haruna Iddrisu as Minister-designate for Education by President John Dramani Mahama.
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Speaking on Eyewitness News on Thursday, January 16, 2025, Mr. Asare highlighted the critical role of budgetary support in addressing Ghana’s education challenges and fulfilling campaign promises.
Mr. Asare’s remarks reflect a growing consensus among education stakeholders that sufficient funding is crucial for the effective implementation of policies and programs.
The call for a 20% budgetary allocation to education aligns with international benchmarks, such as the UNESCO recommendation which suggests that governments allocate between 15-20% of their total expenditure to education.
“We expect to see the minister influencing the education budget so that at least we have 20% of the public budget allocated to education. That should be the basis for which one would expect that the 140 education promises in the NDC manifesto will see an expedited commencement in year one,” he stated.
Beyond budgetary concerns, Mr. Asare also emphasised the importance of convening an education conference to foster dialogue and collaboration among stakeholders.
He underscored the need for a forum where educators, policymakers and civil society can deliberate on strategies to address pressing challenges and achieve national education goals.
Earlier today, i received a call from the Minister of Education nominee informing Eduwatch of his nomination, and courting our support.
Unlike the outgone Minister who was my friend, I have never met Hon. Haruna in person. I however know him to be an influential development advocate and former student leader. He has also been Minister before.
From Kofi Asare
”I congratulated him for his nomination and welcomed him to the hot seat.
His nomination reminds me of the late Hon. Baah Wiredu of blessed memory; an accountant who in my opinion, became one of the best things to happen at the Ministry of Education.
To succeed at that Ministry, you must be a good manager, organizer, listener and influencer-managing the resources, including the expertise available to implement your policies, and using your advocacy skills to influence resource allocation to education.
I assured him of Eduwatch’s support for building an education system which is accountable, equitable and efficient.
If approved, with good memory on my side, Haruna will be the first Minister of Education from the Northern part of Ghana in the 4th Republic.
The five northern sector regions, Oti and Western North represents the most deprived regions in education in Ghana.
The 7 regions have the highest number of schools under trees (over 4k), pupils without adequate desks (over 1m), pupils without textbooks, teacher deficits and percentage out of school children.
Eduwatch is ready to support in bridging the generational north-south divide in education access and quality, while demanding accountability for policy actions and inactions, including the 140 promises in the NDC’s education manifesto.
With support from the British Government, Eduwatch has just commenced a project on Manifesto Promise to Policy Transition (M2P), aiming to provide technical assistance to the new government in translating promises into policies.
We wish him well.”
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