The Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) has allocated GHC100 million to support free education for persons with special needs across the country, Minister for Education Haruna Iddrisu announced on Monday.
Speaking at the Government’s Accountability Series in Accra, Mr Iddrisu said the funding follows recent amendments to the GETFund Act, which now mandate dedicated financial support for learners with disabilities, a first in Ghana’s education history.
“One was to dedicate the financing of Free Senior High School feeding to GETFund. The second was also to dedicate fees for persons with disabilities to GETFund,” the Minister explained.
“In that amendment was a provision for GETFund to annually provide for the provision of free education for persons with special needs, to keep them with our pledge as a government to promote inclusive and equitable education.”
The GHC100 million allocation, Mr Iddrisu said, will directly fund tuition, feeding, and the procurement of assistive devices for learners with visual, hearing, and other impairments, interventions long advocated by disability rights groups.
“For the first time in many years, assistive devices will be procured to support learners with difficulties across the country,” he said.
Beyond financial support, the Minister disclosed that the government is undertaking major rehabilitation works at three key special education institutions: the School for the Blind in Akropong, the School for the Deaf in Savelugu, and a special needs school in the Upper West Region.
Feeding grants for students with special needs have also been increased from GHC8 to GHC15 per day, a move Mr Iddrisu described as “walking the talk” on government commitments.
In addition, the Ministry is developing a new Mathematics curriculum for learners with visual impairment and a standardised sign language curriculum for hearing-impaired students, measures aimed at ensuring that learners with disabilities are not left behind in Ghana’s educational transformation.
Mr Iddrisu stressed that the interventions demonstrate the government’s resolve to build an education system that offers equal opportunities to all learners, regardless of physical or sensory challenges.
“These measures keep us with our pledge as a government to promote inclusive and equitable education,” he said.
The announcement has been welcomed by education advocates, who have long called for targeted funding and resources to address the systemic neglect of special needs education in the country.
