Member of Parliament, Abena Osei-Asare, has cautioned the government against diverting resources from the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) to finance the School Feeding Programme, arguing that such a move could undermine critical investments in educational infrastructure and development.
The former Minister of State at the Finance Ministry raised the concern during parliamentary discussions on education financing, where she questioned the government’s decision to allocate portions of GETFund resources to support the feeding programme.
According to her, GETFund was established with a clear mandate to support educational development through the provision of infrastructure, teaching and learning facilities, scholarships and other strategic interventions within the education sector.
She argued that redirecting the fund’s resources to recurrent expenditure such as school feeding could affect the fund’s ability to address pressing infrastructure deficits in schools across the country.
Speaking on the floor of Parliament, Osei-Asare warned that many schools continue to grapple with inadequate classrooms, dormitories, laboratories, libraries, and accommodation facilities, making it necessary to preserve GETFund resources for their intended purpose.
She said, “GETFund was established to address critical infrastructure and educational needs. We must be careful not to use it for purposes that could undermine its core mandate.”
She further expressed concern that relying on GETFund to finance operational programmes could create long-term sustainability challenges for the education sector.
According to her, while the School Feeding Programme remains an important social intervention, the government should explore alternative funding sources rather than drawing heavily on funds earmarked for educational development projects.
“School feeding is important, but we should not sacrifice infrastructure development and educational investment to fund it. We need sustainable sources of financing for both programmes,” She said.
She maintained that educational infrastructure remains one of the biggest challenges confronting schools in many parts of the country and, therefore, requires consistent funding support.
The MP also urged policymakers to ensure that decisions regarding the utilisation of GETFund resources remain aligned with the objectives for which the fund was created.
Despite acknowledging the importance of social interventions, Osei-Asare insisted that the government must strike a balance between welfare programmes and long-term investments in educational infrastructure.
“We cannot neglect the infrastructure needs of our schools. If we continue to stretch GETFund beyond its primary purpose, future generations may suffer the consequences of inadequate educational facilities.”
