Education Issues In the 7th State of the Nation Address (SONA) by President John Dramani Mahama

President John Dramani Mahama, in his first State of the Nation Address (SONA), outlined plans for the education sector.  The president has already launched the national dialogue on education, which is expected to provide ideas and the direction the nation’s education should take into the future.  He also debunked the 5.1 million beneficiaries of the Free SHS figure honed by the Akuffo Addo – Bawumia led administration and reaffirmed his commitment to making the Free SHS policy better. He added that he was not going to cancel the Free SHS and that it has come to stay.

Below are the full details.

Education Issues In the 7th State of the Nation Address (SONA) by President John Dramani Mahama.

Recognising the urgent need for national dialogue on education and in the spirit of inclusive governance, I launched the National Education Consultative Forum on February 18 in Ho. I look forward to the recommendations, which we will incorporate into our sectoral policies.

Mr Speaker, even though Article 38 of the Constitution guarantees equitable access to education across Ghana, 30 years after the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) programme, its full objectives remain unmet.

To tackle this issue, government will redefine the scope of basic education and introduce the “Zero to Hero” initiative to enhance foundational literacy and numeracy.

Additionally, ICT training will be integrated into early childhood education. Over the next three years, it will be expanded to cover 300 classrooms, 30 centres of excellence, 1,000 teachers, and District Teacher Support Teams (DTSTs) focusing on mathematics and literacy.

This year, the Ministry of Education will fully implement a new curriculum for Senior High Technical Schools and STEM Schools, introduce a standardised National Sign Language for hearing-impaired learners from Kindergarten to SHS, and review the Kindergarten and Primary School curriculums.

To increase access to quality education, we will scale up social intervention programmes like Capitation Grants, Feeding Grants for Special Schools, and the government’s BECE registration initiative.

To promote inclusion and equity, the government will:

Enhance and resource the Islamic Education Unit to recruit more Islamic and Arabic tutors; Establish STEM and TVET schools in underserved peri-urban communities; Provide scholarships to brilliant but needy students in deprived communities, especially for law, medicine, and engineering; Support Islamic Colleges of Education with infrastructure and logistics; Enrol youth in Zongo and deprived urban areas in the National Apprenticeship Programme and offer free technical and vocational training.

It is important to continue to retain and motivate teachers in all schools, especially in rural and underserved areas. Government will begin plans for the implementation of the 20% allowance for teachers who agree to serve in rural schools.

District Assemblies would be involved in this scheme to ensure that the teachers are present and teaching. This scheme will reward such teachers for their sacrifice and ensuring quality education nationwide.

As part of our Teacher Dabr3 initiative, the construction of teacher accommodation units to improve welfare and attract teachers to rural areas will commence this year.

Mr Speaker, once again for emphasis, and for the record, I, John Dramani Mahama, President of the Republic of Ghana, will not cancel the free SHS programme. I am determined to make it better by improving its implementation.

Also, for the record, students who have benefitted from the free SHS since its inception are about 3.4 million. The figure of 5.1 million beneficiaries, as previously put out by the Akufo-Addo government, was an exaggerated and false narrative calculated to achieve political credit.

While it has improved access, the implementation of free SHS leaves much to be desired. The outcomes of the ongoing National Education Forum will guide our reforms in this sector.

In line with our promise, the Minister for Education has announced the restoration of Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs). It is important for parents and communities to participate in the administration of their schools. The Ministry of Education and GES will ensure that PTAs do not impose unbearable financial burdens on parents and students who cannot afford them.

The double-track system remains a challenge, and we are committed to eliminating it by accelerating school infrastructure expansion and completing stalled projects. To fund this, the Education and Finance Ministries are working to uncap the GETFund for secondary school projects.

As promised, we have begun improving secondary school feeding. Efforts to decentralise food management include strengthening procurement and store management capacity. Once completed, food procurement and management will be fully handed over to secondary school heads.

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) are central to national development. We will expand STEM programmes at all levels to equip students for the global economy. Regional TVET Centres of Excellence will be established to provide practical skills.

Ghana has consistently missed its Gross Tertiary Enrolment targets, with the rate below 22%—far from the 40% goal by 2030. Despite over 460,000 secondary graduates annually, 55% qualify for tertiary education, and only 35% (161,000) enrol, leaving over 300,000 without access.

To address this, government is introducing a no-fee stress policy to eliminate tertiary admission fees, which currently serve as a barrier to higher education for some students.

This will be supported by an enhanced Student Loan Scheme (Student Loan Plus). The no-fee policy will also cover all Persons with Disabilities (PwD) who gain admission to tertiary institutions. Additionally, TVET enrolment will be increased from 11% to 20% to boost employability.

Rising enrolment has strained university infrastructure, causing overcrowding and inadequate accommodation. We are determined to expand access, improve quality, and align tertiary education with national goals, particularly in STEM.

Feasibility studies for new public universities or campuses of existing universities to be established in the six new regions will commence this year.

Seed funding for these projects will come from the GETFund to enhance nationwide access.

Government will engage with the existing public universities to identify suitable sites on their acquired lands for the implementation of the private sector participation in the provision of hostels. This will allow more students to be accommodated on the campuses to allow for a better learning environment.

Academic freedom will be upheld, and institutions will be required to ensure good governance.