Parliament has approved a US$300 million Credit Facility Agreement between the Government of Ghana and the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank Group to finance the Secondary Education Transformation for Access, Relevance and Results for Jobs (STARR-J) project.
The project aims to expand access to secondary education, improve its quality and relevance, and strengthen institutional systems.
It comprises three interrelated components addressing infrastructure, quality and governance challenges in the sector.
Under the agreement, US$257.7 million will be allocated to expanding equitable access to secondary education, while US$33.8 million will support quality improvement and provide counterpart funding.
A further US$5 million will be used to strengthen the institutional and administrative systems needed to sustain improvements in access, quality and relevance across the sector.
Approval of the facility followed a heated debate in Parliament on Tuesday, marked by frequent interjections from both the Majority and Minority during consideration of the Finance Committee’s report.
The Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, accused the government of borrowing to finance the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) programme rather than the secondary education transformation project outlined in the committee’s report.
He argued that the initiative originated under former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
“Mr Speaker, we are saying that it is okay to make an investment in education. After all, this policy is the brainchild of former President Akufo-Addo. The Majority didn’t believe it and doubted it. But if today they have come and they think that it is a good policy, we already know that Free SHS is good for Ghana,” Mr Afenyo-Markin said.
He added that the Minority would closely monitor the implementation of the facility to ensure the funds were used for their intended purpose.
“Mr Speaker, after the Majority have used their numbers to approve the loan, we are not going to watch them unconcerned. We are going to open our eyes to look into the procurement. It is not going to be business as usual,” he said.
The Deputy Ranking Member on the Finance Committee and MP for Tano North, Dr Gideon Boako, also criticised the government’s decision to return to the debt market shortly after exiting the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, describing it as a sign of weak revenue mobilisation.
Responding, the Majority Leader, Mahama Ayariga, rejected claims that the facility was intended to finance Free SHS, insisting it was meant to improve educational outcomes through infrastructure investment.
“Mr Speaker, Ghanaians have received reports about our performance at WASSCE. There is a perceived categorisation of schools into Grade A, B and C, and the underlying reason why some schools perform better than others is largely a function of infrastructure,” he said.
He added that the government’s objective was to eliminate disparities among schools by investing in infrastructure so that all secondary schools could attain the same standard.
Mr Ayariga also argued that secondary education predated the introduction of Free SHS and therefore could not be equated entirely with the policy.
“Mr Speaker, so everything that is done in secondary education is Free S.H.S. didn’t we have secondary education before the free was introduced?” Mr Ayariga asked.
BY BENJAMIN ARCTON-TETTEY.
Follow our WhatsApp Channel now! https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbAjG7g3gvWajUAEX12Q
