Africa Education Watch (Eduwatch) has strongly criticized the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) for promoting Foreign Masters Scholarships and has urged an immediate halt to this initiative.
Key Points of Criticism:
- Legality and Mandate: Eduwatch argues that according to the GETFund Act of 2000 (Act 581), the Fund is mandated to support scholarships for brilliant but needy students to study in Ghana, not to manage foreign scholarships. The March 2024 parliamentary approval of GHC 3.9 billion for GETFund did not include funding for scholarships, rendering any plans to fund foreign scholarships in 2024/25 illegal and outside the approved budget.
- Economic Concerns: Eduwatch highlights that Ghana is facing significant economic challenges, including spending cuts and increased taxes. Utilizing limited educational resources for foreign scholarships is seen as wasteful, especially when many local basic schools are in poor condition.
- Local vs. Foreign Education Costs: Most foreign Masters programs offered can be pursued locally at a fraction of the cost. Funding foreign scholarships is not considered cost-effective, as studying abroad can be up to 20 times more expensive than studying in Ghana. The average student loan in Ghana of GHC 2,250 per year is insufficient compared to the GHC 400,000 cost of a one-year foreign Masters Scholarship.
- Tertiary Education Goals: Ghana aimed to increase its Gross Tertiary Enrolment (GTE) from 16.97% in 2017/18 to 40% by 2030. However, by 2023, the GTE reached only 19.2%, with a 34% transition rate from secondary to tertiary education. Financial barriers remain a significant obstacle for students, despite more students passing the WASSCE exams.
- Student Loan Scheme Issues: The Student Loan Scheme is underfunded, with about 30% of applicants unable to access loans. Those who do often face delays, leading some students to drop out or take low-paying jobs.
Recommendations and Demands:
- Ministerial Action: Eduwatch demands that the Minister for Education instruct GETFund to cease the Foreign Scholarship Application process.
- Parliamentary Intervention: Eduwatch urges Parliament to prevent GETFund from spending on Foreign Scholarships as it is unapproved and considered wasteful.
- Public Scholarship System Reform: Eduwatch calls on presidential candidates to commit to reforming the public scholarship system to ensure it is fair, efficient, transparent, and sustainable. They advocate for a single scholarships authority accountable to Parliament and for decentralizing tertiary scholarships to public institutions.
Previous Findings and Recommendations:
- 2019 GETFund Performance Audit Report: The report found that GETFund had improperly administered scholarships instead of funding the Scholarship Secretariat to do so. The Auditor-General recommended that GETFund comply with its legal mandate and stop administering foreign scholarships. This recommendation has been upheld since 2020 and should continue to be enforced.
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