The Member of Parliament (MP) for Atiwa East, and former Deputy Finance Minister, Abena Osei-Asare, has raised concerns over the growing use of Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) resources to finance the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) feeding programme, warning that the practice risks undermining the Fund’s primary mandate of supporting educational infrastructure and development.

Speaking during discussions on education financing, the former Deputy Finance Minister questioned the decision to allocate a substantial portion of GETFund resources to recurrent expenditure, particularly student feeding, at a time when many educational infrastructure projects across the country remain uncompleted.

Her concerns follow a disclosure by the Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, that the government has earmarked GH¢4.2 billion from GETFund to cater for feeding under the Free SHS programme in 2026. According to the Minister, the allocation represents about 42 per cent of the Fund’s total resources for the year.

Abena Osei-Asare argued that while the feeding component of Free SHS is important, diverting such a significant share of GETFund resources away from infrastructure development could hamper efforts to improve learning environments and address critical deficits in the education sector.

She called on the Minister for Finance to make adequate budgetary allocations to GETFund in the 2027 national budget to enable the completion of existing educational infrastructure projects and ensure the Fund fulfils its core mandate.

The Atiwa East legislator stressed that investment in classrooms, laboratories, dormitories and other educational facilities remains crucial to improving access to quality education across the country.

Meanwhile, Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu defended the allocation, noting that the government remains committed to sustaining the Free SHS policy while addressing broader educational needs.

He, however, acknowledged the need to review the financing structure of GETFund, indicating that future funding priorities should place greater emphasis on basic and foundational learning to strengthen educational outcomes at the lower levels of the system.

The debate highlights the ongoing challenge of balancing the financial demands of the Free SHS programme with the need for long-term investment in educational infrastructure and quality improvement across Ghana’s education sector.