By Nadia Ntiamoah
The NDC government has allocated a total of GH¢48 billion to the Ministry of Education for the 2027 fiscal year, Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has announced, outlining a series of interventions aimed at improving access to education, strengthening infrastructure and addressing some of the longstanding challenges confronting the education system.
Presenting the 2027 Budget Statement and Economic Policy to Parliament on Thursday, November 12, 2026, Dr Forson said the allocation forms part of the Mahama administration’s commitment to investing in human capital development and ensuring that more Ghanaian children have access to quality and affordable education.
The GH¢48 billion allocation represents one of the major sectoral spending commitments in the 2027 Budget, with funding expected to support educational programmes across basic, secondary and tertiary levels, as well as government interventions designed to reduce the financial burden on parents and students.
Among the key interventions highlighted in the budget is the continued implementation of the No Fees Stress policy, which is intended to remove the financial barrier associated with academic user fees for eligible first-year students entering public tertiary institutions.
The policy forms part of the government’s broader efforts to expand access to higher education and prevent qualified students from losing admission opportunities because of their inability to pay initial academic fees.
The Finance Minister also highlighted the continuation of the free sanitary pads programme for schoolgirls, an intervention intended to address menstrual hygiene challenges and reduce absenteeism among female students, particularly those from financially disadvantaged households.
Under the programme, the government is seeking to ensure that menstruation does not become a barrier to regular school attendance or academic participation for girls across the country.
Another important commitment is the government’s decision to continue paying examination fees for candidates sitting the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE). The intervention is expected to ease the financial pressure on parents and guardians while ensuring that eligible candidates can participate in the national examination without being excluded because of their inability to meet the associated fees.
The budget also addresses the government’s commitment to ending the double-track system in senior high schools. The system, introduced to accommodate increasing enrolment under the Free Senior High School policy, has been a major subject of debate over classroom space, infrastructure, teaching time and the academic calendar.
The administration is expected to continue investing in school infrastructure and other educational facilities to create the capacity required for students to enjoy a more conventional academic calendar.
The Free Senior High School programme also remains an important component of the government’s education agenda, with the 2027 allocation expected to support the continued provision of secondary education to students across the country.
Beyond classroom education, the government has maintained support for the School Feeding Programme, which provides meals to pupils in public basic schools. The programme is intended to improve school attendance, support child nutrition and encourage enrolment, particularly in deprived communities.
The Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme, which provides financial assistance to vulnerable households, also features in the government’s social protection commitments. Such interventions are expected to support families whose economic circumstances could otherwise affect children’s ability to remain in school.
The GH¢48 billion allocation comes against the background of successive governments’ efforts to expand educational access through major policy interventions, including the Free Senior High School programme introduced under former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in September 2017.
The policy significantly changed access to secondary education by removing the payment of approved tuition and other related fees for eligible students in public senior high schools. However, its implementation has generated recurring concerns over funding, infrastructure, feeding, accommodation and the availability of teaching and learning materials.
The Mahama administration has maintained that improving the quality and sustainability of education requires more than increasing enrolment figures. Investment in infrastructure, teacher support, learning materials and the effective management of existing programmes will remain crucial to ensuring that increased access translates into better educational outcomes.
The 2027 allocation is therefore expected to support both existing government interventions and efforts to address gaps in the education system.
The challenge, however, will be ensuring that the GH¢48 billion is efficiently utilised and that the announced interventions produce measurable improvements in schools, colleges and universities across the country.
Parents will be looking forward to relief from education-related expenses, students will expect improved facilities and learning conditions, while teachers and education stakeholders will be interested in how the allocation addresses staffing, infrastructure and other operational challenges.
