Govt allots GH¢20m to pay capitation grant arrears

The government has disclosed the disbursement of GH¢20 million earmarked for the settlement of capitation grants to public basic schools nationwide.

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

Concerns had been raised by the Minority in Parliament and education stakeholders about a two-year backlog in grant disbursements, stressing that these delays were hugely affecting the quality of basic-level education.

Addressing queries in Parliament, Education Minister Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum assured that steps have been taken to settle the outstanding grant payments, emphasizing the government’s commitment to addressing challenges within the education sector.

“Mr. Speaker, capitation grant arrears of GH¢15 million were disbursed to schools in May 2023 and the remaining arrears of last year amounting to GH¢20 million have been released by the Ministry of Finance and are currently being processed for disbursement. In addition, GH¢4.2 million of this year’s capitation is also being processed for disbursement.”