The Finance Minister, Hon. Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, has announced a significant increase in government funding for the Free Senior High School (SHS) Program, textbooks, and the School Feeding Programme while delivering the 2025 budget statement in Parliament.
Dr. Forson stated that the government has allocated GHS 3.5 billion for the Free SHS Program in 2025.
Additionally, by uncapping the GETFund, the government will inject an extra GHS 4.1 billion to support free secondary education and related expenditures.
“We have also absorbed the debt service—comprising interest and principal—of the Dakye Bond that GETFund contracted,” he told Parliament.
To improve learning outcomes, the government has earmarked GHS 564.6 million for curriculum-based textbooks.
The breakdown includes; 4 sets of KG books and workbooks for 2.8 million learners, 4 sets of primary textbooks for 800,000 learners, 9 sets of SHS textbooks for 5.4 million learners
The Minister also hinted that the School Feeding Programme will receive a substantial budget increase from GHS 1.3 billion in 2024 to GHS 1.78 billion in 2025.
This reflects a 33.3% rise in feeding cost per meal per child, increasing from GHS 1.50 pesewas to GHS 2.00.
Finance Minister, Hon. Dr. Ato Forson emphasized the government’s commitment to enhancing education accessibility and quality for all Ghanaian children, adding that the increased funding aims to ease financial burdens on parents and ensure students receive adequate learning materials and nutrition.
Story by Freedom Lavoe.
