Government cleared all legacy arrears – Education Minister

Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, the Minister of Education, on Wednesday said the government has cleared all legacy arrears left by the previous administration to ensure that there was continuity of service delivery in the educational system.

He said the debts, which were huge on key supplies for educational service delivery, had an outstanding bill of approximately GH¢9 million on Capitation Grant, GH¢4 million on Feeding Grant for Special Schools, GH¢14 million on exercise books to basic schools, and GH¢4 million on the supply of school uniforms among others.

Dr Prempeh, who is also the Member of Parliament for the Manhyia constituency, said this while delivering a comprehensive statement to Parliament on education reforms and teacher education since the New Patriotic Party (NPP) assumed office.

“Moreover, there were delays in the disbursement of capitation and feeding grants for Special Schools affecting the effective operation of the schools. Within the period, Government has cleared all the arrears and ensured the timely release of capitation and feeding grants for Special Schools,” he said.

The Minister mentioned other initiatives and reforms rolled out by the NPP government in the education sector, including training of teachers, staff promotion, the teacher licensure regime, infrastructure investments, a legal and regulatory framework, and improvements in the Technical, Vocational Education & Training (TVET) subsector.