The government has announced an annual allocation of GH¢100 million through the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) to provide free special needs education for persons with disabilities across the country.
The initiative, which follows amendments to the GETFund Act, is aimed at ensuring that learners with disabilities are not left behind in the government’s drive to provide inclusive, quality and equitable education for all.
The funding is expected to take effect from the 2027/2028 academic year and will be maintained annually throughout the tenure of President John Dramani Mahama.
Announcing the policy in Accra, the Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, said the programme had been designated as a flagship government initiative for learners with special needs and disabilities.
He explained that disability should never be a barrier to opportunity and that every child deserved access to education regardless of ability, background, gender or circumstance.
As part of the intervention, the Minister said GETFund would absorb the full feeding cost of students in all public special and inclusive schools, with the daily feeding grant increased from GH¢8 to GH¢15 per learner.
In addition, he said government would invest about GH¢40 million in assistive devices, subject to procurement requirements, and fund infrastructure projects at the Akropong School for the Blind, the School for the Deaf at Savelugu and the Upper West Region School for the Deaf under the 2026 GETFund allocation.
The National President of the Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations, Joseph Atsu Homadzi, welcomed the initiative and encouraged parents to enrol children with disabilities, saying “The government’s intervention removes financial barriers and reinforces its commitment to inclusive education and national development.”
He urged parents to enrol children with disabilities, saying government interventions had removed financial barriers to education and demonstrated a strong commitment to inclusive education and national development.
Ghana currently has 29 public special and inclusive schools serving about 9,000 learners, including 19 special boarding schools, seven schools for the visually impaired and three schools for the hearing impaired.
BY CLIFF EKUFUL
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