News:
July 22, 2026
Deputy Minister of Finance, Thomas Nyarko Ampem, has firmly rejected claims by the Minority in Parliament that the government is securing a $300 million credit facility from the World Bank to fund the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy, stressing that the funds are designated for a distinct educational infrastructure and systems upgrade.
The clarification came on Tuesday during parliamentary proceedings, following the presentation of a Credit Facility Agreement between the Government of Ghana (represented by the Ministry of Finance) and the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank Group. The agreement seeks US$300,000,000.00 to finance the Secondary Education Transformation for Access project.
Purpose of the Facility
Addressing the House, Mr. Ampem detailed that the IDA facility is strictly a transformative development project aimed at broadening access to secondary education through systemic improvements—not recurrent expenditure for daily school feeding or current student stipends. He outlined that the funds will be strategically deployed to:
· Expand critical infrastructure, including the construction of new classroom blocks, fully-equipped science laboratories, and technical workshops to absorb the increasing number of junior high school graduates transitioning to SHS.
· Upgrade teaching and learning materials, focusing on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and ICT resources, alongside the rollout of digital teaching platforms.
· Enhance teacher quality through specialized training and professional development programs to improve learning outcomes.
· Promote equity and inclusion by providing targeted scholarships and support systems for underprivileged, rural, and differently-abled students who face barriers to accessing secondary education.
· Strengthen educational management systems, including data-driven monitoring and evaluation tools to better track student performance and school accountability.
GETFund, Not Loans, Pays for Free SHS
Dismissing the Minority’s assertions, Mr. Ampem emphasized that the government has maintained a clear separation between capital projects and the operational costs of the Free SHS policy. He attributed the stability of the policy to a key fiscal decision made earlier in the administration’s tenure.
“The assertion that this money is going to be used to fund free secondary education is simply not the case,” the Deputy Minister stated. “When this government came to power, it took a bold decision to uncap the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund). We decided that we will let GETFund finance free secondary education, and to date, GETFund has spent 1.8 billion cedis to sustain that program.”
He further challenged the Minority’s narrative by pointing to the absence of industrial unrest in the sector. “Since 2025, have you heard the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) complaining and threatening to close down schools?” he queried, reinforcing that the government has consistently met its financial obligations to senior high schools through the dedicated education fund without resorting to external borrowing for those recurrent costs.
The credit facility is currently under review by Parliament’s Finance Committee, which is expected to report on its feasibility and specific implementation benchmarks before the House grants final approval.
Dominic Shirimori/ Ghanamps.com