Free Education for PWDs: Gov’t to earmarks GH¢40 million for assistive devices

Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, says the government will invest at least GH¢40 million in assistive devices to strengthen learning for persons with disabilities.

This was disclosed by Haruna Iddrisu on Thursday, July 2, 2026, during the announcement of free education for persons with special needs at the Ministry of Education Conference Room in Accra.

The Deputy Minister for Education, Dr. Clement Abas Apaak, chaired the Committee, 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.

The minister said the investment forms part of the Mahama administration’s commitment to expanding access to quality and inclusive education for learners with special educational needs.

“We intend to invest at least some GH¢40 million on the assistive devices subject to value for money and procurement processes,” Haruna Iddrisu said.

He explained that the procurement of assistive devices would be carried out in line with public procurement rules to ensure transparency and value for money while equipping special schools with essential learning tools.

The minister also announced an increase in the feeding grant for special needs schools, describing it as another measure to improve the welfare of learners.

“As many of you may recall, the feeding fee used to be at GH¢8 from 2024 thereabouts. The government of President Mahama has further increased that to GH¢15,” he stated.

Haruna Iddrisu said the revised feeding grant takes immediate effect and applies to all special needs schools across the country.

“And for all special needs schools across the country, the grant has been adjusted upward from GH¢8 to GH¢15. Implementation is effective immediate. From today,” he added.

The minister further outlined a reimbursement arrangement under which heads of institutions will submit part of their expenditure returns through the Chief Director of the Ministry of Education to the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) for reimbursement of approved costs associated with special education.

“To the heads of institutions, it means that in filing your returns, part of it now will be filed through the Chief Director of the ministry to GETFund so that GETFund will reimburse you those associated expenditure,” he said.

According to Haruna Iddrisu, the new measures support the government’s broader inclusive education agenda and Ghana’s pursuit of Sustainable Development Goal 4 on equitable access to quality education.

The Mahama administration currently provides free education for persons with disabilities and special needs learners at all levels. The policy covers tuition, assistive devices and feeding grants at public tertiary institutions and special schools through a GH¢100 million annual allocation administered by the Students Loan Trust Fund, reinforcing the government’s commitment to removing financial barriers to education.