Africa Education Watch (Eduwatch) has said that the cutting in budgetary allocation to the education sector especially the basic unit is worrisome.

A budget allocation of GH¢11 million out of GH¢60 million is needed for the Capitation Grant under Free Basic Education in 2023.

In a tweet, Eduwatch believes it is entirely predictable that from history, only 60% out of the paltry GH¢11 million Budget may be released by the government.

It said the situation is quite worrying because the government keeps showing great weakness in funding basic education.

“The future of Basic Education rests on parents’ support; a conversation long overdue,” Eduwatch noted.

The Capitation Grant was introduced in the 2003/2004 academic year to offer Free, Compulsory, and Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) for all school-going children of Ghana.

This is in fulfilment of Article 25(1) (a) of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution, which states that: “Basic education shall be free, compulsory and available to all”.

The scheme was thus introduced to replace all fees paid by parents in public basic schools in order to expand access and support school performance improvement efforts by the schools.

The capitation grant covers general stationery and management, office machinery, first-aid, building maintenance, sporting fees, cultural fees, sanitation fees, furniture and tools, textbook user fees, and practical fees, as well as machinery for technical schools and institutions.