Gov’t Allocates GH¢3.5 Billion for Free SHS in 2025 Budget
The Minister for Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, has announced that the government has allocated GH¢3.5 billion to fund the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) policy for the 2025 fiscal year.
This news has been welcomed by Ghanaians and education stakeholders, as it signals the government’s commitment to sustaining and improving the Free SHS initiative.
While presenting the 2025 budget to Parliament, Dr. Forson revealed that the government will uncap the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) to secure more funds for financing the policy.
“Mr. Speaker, concerns surrounding free secondary education have largely been about its quality and the lack of a dedicated funding source. His Excellency President John Mahama has resolved this by uncapping the GETFund, ensuring dedicated financing for both free secondary education and free tertiary education for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs),” he stated.
To facilitate this move, the Finance Minister further disclosed that the Capping and Realignment Act will be amended to uncap GETFund.
“Mr. Speaker, this year’s budget allocates GH¢3.5 billion for the Free SHS programme. Additionally, by uncapping the GETFund, an extra GH¢4.1 billion will be made available specifically for the financing of Free SHS and other related expenditures.”
Dr. Forson also noted that the government has absorbed the debt service, including both interest and principal, from the Daakye bond contracted under GETFund.
Furthermore, the budget includes a GH¢564.6 million allocation for the provision of free curricula-based textbooks. This covers:
- Four (4) sets of KG books and workbooks for about 2.8 million learners
- Four (4) sets of primary textbooks for 800,000 learners
- Nine (9) sets of JHS 3 textbooks for 540,000 learners
The GH¢3.5 billion allocation ensures the Free SHS policy will continue with more funding to address the challenges it has faced since its implementation.
