“GETFfund alone can cover school fees for first-year university students” – Dr. Otokunor

The Director of Inter-Party and CSO Relations for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Dr. Peter Boamah Otokunor, has revealed that the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) will be able to fund the payment of school fees for first-year university students.

The flagbearer of the NDC and former President, John Dramani Mahama, during the launching of  the party’s youth manifesto on August 12, disclosed that first-year tertiary students will not pay academic fees.

He said the policy will be part of his next government’s initiative to lessen the burden on parents financing the cost of their children’s education at the tertiary level.

The policy has since been met with criticism from Ghanaians especially some officials of the ruling New Patriotic Party as they claim that the promise by John Dramani Mahama and for that matter the NDC to make tertiary education free for freshers is only political gimmicks.

Speaker on Joy News’ PM Express which was keenly monitored by Elvisanokyenews.com. Dr. Otokunor, emphatically stated that Ghana has the resources to successfully implement the policy.

According to Otokunor, the GETFund accrued GHc7.9 billion annually, which will be sufficient to cover the estimated GHc300 million needed for the initiative.

“Mostly the school fees varies, and averagely its around GHc 2,500.00, so if you do the costing averagely GHc 250million to GHc300milion which comes around about some $20,000,000. so we are looking at $20,000,000.

“That one is there, we have GETFund, last year GETFund was supposed to give us GHc7.9biliion. The GHc7.9billion, 3.9 was allocated to education, the rest they claim has been collateralized.

“What are going to do is to uncollateralized, the 4 billion or as it where, restructure the collateralization of the GHc4billion, decap the GHc3.9billion that we are supposed to allocate so that we will be able to make more resources for this.” He said.

He further explained that, even without the GETFund, the next NDC government will be able to fulfil that initiative if they streamline government expenditure.

“You are paid GHc300million and you have a fund that is about GHc7.9billion wealth, it shouldn’t be a problem. Annual inflow of GHc7.9billion that should be an easy thing so GETFund can solve this but even granted that GETFund is not available, we believe that if we are able to streamline government expenditure, we will be able to make a lot of resources available for this.” He explained.

The Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) is a public trust set up by an Act of Parliament in the year 2000. Its core mandate is to provide funding to supplement government effort for the provision of educational infrastructure and facilities within the public sector from the pre-tertiary to the tertiary level.

Source: Elvisanokyenews.com