Free Education Programme: Persons With Disabilities salute Mahama

By: Winifred Fosua Agyekum
The President of the Ghana Federation of Persons with Disabilities (GFD), Mr. Atsu Humadzi, has praised President John Dramani Mahama for introducing a free education programme for learners with special needs.

He described the initiative as a landmark step towards inclusive education and equal opportunity.

Speaking at the announcement of the Free Education for Learners with Special Needs at the Ministry of Education in Accra, Mr. Humadzi said the policy had removed financial barriers that had prevented many children with disabilities from accessing education.

The Deputy Minister for Education, Dr. Clement Abas Apaak, chaired the Committee for the Free Education Programme, with other committee members from the Ghana Federation for Persons with Disabilities (GFD), the Ghana Education Service (GES), Pre-tertiary Directorates at the Ministry of Education, and the Policy, Budgeting, Monitoring and Evaluation Directorate in the Ministry of Education.

“Today, persons with disabilities have no financial barrier to education. From primary school to university, the government has opened the doors for us to fully participate in education,” Mr. Humadzi said.

He urged parents to enroll their children with disabilities in school.

Mr. Humadzi commended President Mahama, the Minister for Education, and other stakeholders for championing the welfare of persons with disabilities, adding that the initiative would empower beneficiaries to become productive citizens rather than depend on state support.

Announcing the programme, the Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to ensuring that no child is denied quality education because of disability, background, gender, or circumstance.

He announced that all learners in the country’s 39 public special and integrated schools would benefit from a GH¢100 million allocation from the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) to support the implementation of the programme.

The Minister also disclosed that the daily feeding grant for students in public special schools had been increased from GH¢8 to GH¢15 with immediate effect, stressing that no learner in a special needs institution should henceforth receive meals below the new rate.

In addition, he revealed that the government intends to invest GH¢40 million in the procurement of assistive devices for learners with disabilities. He directed officials of the Ministry of Education and representatives of disability organisations to identify priority assistive equipment and ensure their procurement follows due process to guarantee transparency and value for money.

Mr. Iddrisu explained that institutions would submit expenditure returns through the Ministry of Education, after which GETFund would reimburse eligible costs in line with recent amendments to the GETFund Act.

He said the initiative complements government’s efforts to provide sustainable financing for education, noting that amendments to the GETFund Act had already secured funding for the Free Senior High School programme and helped eliminate food shortages in secondary schools.

According to the Minister, Ghana currently has 39 public special and integrated schools, comprising 29 special boarding schools, seven integrated schools for learners with visual impairment, and three integrated schools for learners with hearing impairment. These institutions serve approximately 9,000 learners, including about 8,800 boarders and 200 day students.

Mr. Humadzi appealed to the media to highlight the significance of the policy and described it as a demonstration of the government’s commitment to protecting vulnerable groups.

“No nation can develop if it fails to carry along its vulnerable people. This government has opened the educational space for persons with disabilities, and we are deeply grateful,” he said.

The launch marks a major milestone in Ghana’s drive to promote inclusive education and ensure that learners with disabilities have equal access to quality education and the support needed to realise their full potential.