GETFund clarifies role as EFPI expands education funding partnerships

Officials of the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) have explained the mandate of the Fund and how its Education Financing and Partnership Initiative (EFPI) supports education.

Speaking on JoyNews, Deputy Director of GETFund Adwoa Amankwah Boateng Appiah, Senior Manager of EFPI Shine Hakeem Torsu and Principal Manager of Corporate Affairs Bailon Afful explained the operations of GETFund, the origins of EFPI and the interventions being implemented to support the education sector.

According to the officials, GETFund was established to provide supplementary government funding for educational infrastructure and facilities across the public education sector.

They said the Fund’s mandate covers all levels of public education, ranging from pre-tertiary institutions to tertiary institutions. Its support is aimed at addressing infrastructure and facility needs that affect the quality of teaching and learning across the country.

The officials further explained that GETFund also provides scholarship assistance for tertiary and post-tertiary education. However, they stressed that scholarships represent only a small part of the Fund’s overall operations.

Principal Manager of Corporate Affairs, Bailon Afful, said the public perception that GETFund is mainly a scholarship provider does not reflect the broader responsibilities of the institution.

“Everyone thinks GETFund is all about scholarships, but scholarships are about 5% of what GETFund does,” he said.

Mr Afful explained that the Fund’s major focus is educational infrastructure, noting that the scale of the country’s infrastructure needs makes it difficult for government to meet all requirements on its own.

“What we do at GETFund is providing infrastructural support, and we know government alone cannot do it,” he added.

He also explained how the Education Financing and Partnership Initiative emerged within GETFund.

According to Mr Afful, when Paul Agyei became the administrator of GETFund in February 2005, he identified an aspect of the law establishing the Fund that contained an element of funding which had not been utilised.

He said the discovery created an opportunity for GETFund to establish a fundraising department to explore additional ways of mobilising resources for education.

“Within the fundraising department, we formed the Education Financing and Partnership Initiative,” he said.

The establishment of EFPI, he explained, was therefore linked to the need to expand the financial resources available to the education sector beyond the traditional government funding provided through GETFund.

Deputy Director of GETFund, Adwoa Amankwah Boateng Appiah, said EFPI was specifically created to complement the government’s contribution to education.

“Education Financing and Partnership Initiative is a GETFund initiative that was designed to complement what we are receiving from the government,” she explained.

She stressed that the initiative should not be interpreted as an attempt to shift the responsibility of financing public education away from the government.

“EFPI is not there to replace what government is giving them, but it is only there to support what they are receiving,” she added.

According to the officials, the initiative recognises that the education sector requires substantial financial resources and that additional support from other stakeholders can help government address some of the challenges confronting schools.

Senior Manager of EFPI, Shine Hakeem Torsu, outlined some of the key areas being targeted under the initiative.

He said infrastructure development remains a major priority, particularly the construction of classrooms to address accommodation challenges in schools.

The initiative is also focusing on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), which is aimed at equipping students and young people with practical and technical skills that can improve their employment and entrepreneurial opportunities.

Mr Torsu also identified Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education as another important area of intervention.

He said improving STEM education would help provide students with the knowledge and skills needed to participate effectively in a technology-driven economy.

In addition to infrastructure and specialised educational programmes, EFPI is also supporting schools with essential items such as furniture and other educational materials.

The officials said such interventions are necessary because the availability of classrooms alone is not enough to guarantee a conducive learning environment.

They noted that students require appropriate furniture, teaching and learning materials and other basic facilities to support effective education.

They also highlighted the continued importance of the GETFund levy as a major source of government support for education.

They explained that resources generated through the levy continue to be used by the Fund to support educational infrastructure and other programmes.

However, they acknowledged that the needs of the education sector continue to grow, creating the need for additional sources of funding.

They said EFPI was introduced partly to respond to this challenge by creating opportunities for other stakeholders to contribute to educational development.

The initiative is expected to bring together the private sector, alumni associations, religious organisations and individuals who are willing to support education.

According to the officials, these groups can provide additional financial and material resources to complement government interventions.

They explained that the involvement of such stakeholders could help reduce the pressure on government resources while allowing more educational projects and programmes to be implemented.

The officials said the partnership approach is particularly important given the continuing demand for classrooms, furniture, technical facilities and other resources in schools across the country.

They stressed, however, that EFPI does not seek to replace government’s responsibility to finance public education.
Instead, the initiative is designed to create a wider funding base through partnerships and contributions from individuals and organisations interested in supporting education.

The officials also sought to clarify the relationship between GETFund and EFPI, explaining that EFPI operates as an initiative of GETFund rather than as a separate institution.

They said the initiative provides an additional channel through which resources can be mobilised and directed towards identified educational needs.

The officials maintained that GETFund’s core responsibility remains the provision of supplementary government funding for education, with infrastructure development forming a significant part of its activities.

They said scholarship support, although important to beneficiaries, represents only a limited proportion of the Fund’s work.

The discussion highlighted the broader role of GETFund in Ghana’s education system and the growing importance of partnerships in financing educational development.

The officials expressed the view that government, the private sector, alumni groups, religious organisations and individuals all have roles to play in improving the education sector.

They said combining government funding with additional resources mobilised through EFPI could help address some of the infrastructure and resource gaps facing schools.

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