Parliament has called on the Finance Ministry to redirect funds from the non-formal education sector to address challenges in special education across the country. The call came during a debate on the approval of 29.5 billion Ghana Cedis for the Education Ministry.
Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, the Minority Leader, expressed dissatisfaction with the allocation of funds for special education, highlighting the inadequacy of the GHS600,000 allocated for schools like the Akuapim School for the Deaf and the Akropong School for the Blind.
“Even though the ministry has been allocated GHS29.5 billion, only GHS673,429 under 1 million has been allocated to special education. Mr Speaker, special education is something that we need to take quite seriously as a country,” said Dr. Forson.
He emphasized the importance of addressing the funding gap in special education, urging the Ministry of Finance to consider reallocation to ensure that schools for the deaf and other special education institutions are adequately covered.
The Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, echoed these concerns, questioning the allocation and appealing to the government to prioritize special education over non-formal education.
“I don't want to believe that it is a typo error. We need to spend more on the special schools, not the non-formal education. So I will want to plead that if we can do a reallocation from the non-formal education to the special schools, it should be done,” said Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu.
