Govt to decentralize GETFund administration

Kumasi, June 20, GNA - The Government intends to decentralize administration of the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) to help improve its prioritisation, Vice President John Dramani Mahama said on Saturday. He said the decentralisation idea was necessitated by the over commitment of the Fund with the risk of deviating from its main goal of accelerating education development.

Vice President Mahama made these remarks at the 43rd congregation finale of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi which saw more than 900 students completing various courses at the School of Graduate Studies, School of Business and the Faculty of Law with first and masters' degrees, as well as doctorate degrees. He expressed worry about the numerous cases of lack of funds in various institutions that had led to uncompleted structures littered over campuses all over the country. This year's congregation was spread over a five-day period due to the large number of students graduating.

Vice President Mahama said in spite of severe budgetary constraints facing the government, it allocated a total sum of GH¢3.8 million from the GETFund in the 2009 financial year to the KNUST for the completion of projects to accelerate academic activities. He said government had also planned to review the sources of funding the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) in order to restore the 15 percent portion of GETFund which was currently appropriated for that programme. Mr Mahama urged the graduating students to put into practice what they had learnt for the sustainable socio-economic development of the nation.

Professor Kwasi Kwafo Adarkwah, the Vice-Chancellor, appealed to corporate bodies to partner KNUST in its research programmes. This, he said, would help find prompt solutions to some of the challenges facing the nation in its bid to reach a middle-income status within the shortest possible time.