Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu has revealed that 42 percent of the 2026 budget of the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) has been allocated to support the feeding component of the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) programme, raising concerns about the long-term sustainability of the funding arrangement.
Addressing Parliament on Thursday, June 18, 2026, the Minister said the heavy allocation to student feeding is placing significant pressure on GETFund’s ability to fulfil its core mandate of financing educational infrastructure, basic education, and other strategic interventions.
“Currently, the GETFund has allocated 42 percent of its local budget revenue to school feeding under the Free SHS Programme,” Mr Iddrisu told Parliament.
“What then will be left for infrastructure, basic education and the others? That is why I have advised that we should realign the financing of GETFund to focus more on basic foundational learning, such as numeracy skills and literacy, which are important for the future learning success of our people.”
The Minister stressed the need to review the financing framework of GETFund to ensure that more resources are directed towards foundational education while preserving adequate funding for infrastructure development and other critical priorities within the education sector.
His remarks came during parliamentary deliberations on education financing and the sustainability of major government programmes.
Contributing to the debate, the Member of Parliament for Atiwa East, Abena Osei-Asare, also questioned the decision to use a substantial portion of GETFund resources to finance school feeding, arguing that the programme falls outside the fund’s primary mandate.
“If you take 42 percent of their revenue for the school feeding programme, which is not part of their core mandate, then you ask yourself, how much is put down for infrastructure,” she said.
The discussion reflects growing concerns among lawmakers over competing demands on GETFund resources, particularly as government seeks to sustain the Free SHS programme while addressing infrastructure deficits and improving foundational learning outcomes across the country.
Established to support educational development, GETFund finances school infrastructure, scholarships, and other initiatives aimed at expanding access to quality education in Ghana.
story by Sheila Otuo – Baffour