EDUCATION SECTOR ANNUAL REVIEW 2009

1. EDUCATION SECTOR ANNUAL REVIEW 2009 REPORT OF THE TECHNICAL GROUP ON FINANCE

2. How can we make the ESP affordable? • Increasing Funding. • Not a feasible option as public spending on education would drop slightly from 8.9% of GDP in 2007 to 8.2% of GDP in 2020. • Making Efficiency/ Cost Savings

3. Making Efficiency /Cost Savings • Reducing the unit cost of education • Redistribution of expenditure within the sector • Raising additional finance

4. REDUCING THE UNIT COST OF EDUCATION 1. PUPIL TEACHER RATIOs Increase PTRs at various levels and use the revised PTRs for the deployment of teachers to achieve a better teacher distribution (urban/rural, between and within districts) taking into account also the distribution of different categories of teachers.

5. 2. SALARIES Ensure a comprehensive census of education sector staff to weed out all “ghost” and “unutilised/ underutilised” staff. 3. OVERSTAFFING • Appears to be more in JHS (PTR of 17 well below the target of 25). There is the need for rationalising courses with low enrolments. • Districts offices are overstaffed. Establishments need to be set to reduce staff and re-deploy the excess. • Review the establishment for non-teaching staff in all education delivery sectors.

6. 4. STUDY LEAVE Reduce the current cost of GH¢52.4m study leave per annum by providing support for distance education. However, continue a phase-out programme for specialized areas. Should also introduce the Open University ASAP. 5. SUBSIDIES General agreement that subsidies should be continued. Eg for BECE after one re-sit, subsidies are not given for subsequent re-sits. Private schools students should receive the same subsidy for BECE.

7. 6. BOARDING SH boarding should be maintained at full cost with subsidies provided for those who cannot afford to pay. Ability to pay should be considered under a Means Testing. Scholarships should particularly support students in science and technology. 7. COST OF SHS Reduce cost of Senior High Schools by rationalizing programs offered to achieve a better use of teachers and physical facilities (not all schools should offer all programs).

8. TERTIARY Key measures should be put in place to reduce the level of government spending on the sub-sector including: • The charging of realistic fees and the granting of scholarships especially in the areas of science and technology in line with the policy of 60:40. • Make available low-interest loans to meet subsistence costs. • Foreign students to pay full economic fees and subsistence costs.

9. REDISTRIBUTION OF EXPENDITURE Prioritisation of programs and activity through: • Redistribution within the education sector between sub-sectors – pre-tertiary, tertiary, etc • Redistribution between levels within sub-sector: KG, primary, Secondary, Technical etc • Redistribution between different types of institutions: day and boarding • Redistribution between different types of expenditure : salary and non-salary

10. RAISING ADDITIONAL FINANCE • Introducing Loans and Scholarships • Community Financing • Public-Private Partnership

11. LOANS AND SCHOLARSHIPS • Introduction of full cost of education with subsidies provided for those who cannot afford to pay. Ability to pay should be considered under a Means Testing. Scholarships should particularly support students in science and technology.

12. PUBLIC – PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS • Government to support Private - run kindergartens by covering some of their teacher costs. • In primary and JH schools, government should support private schools with providing non-salary inputs (e.g. textbooks) and in-service training. • In SH general, there are enough places in public schools. • TVET institutions, government should support private institutions (tax holidays, tax exemptions on equipment imported, etc.).

13. FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT • There is the need for massive capacity building programme to ensure effective management of the limited resources available.

14. THANK YOU