2 - Financing Higher Education through Value Added Tax: A Review of the Contribution of the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) in Fulfilment of the Objectives of Act 581
Corresponding Author(s) : Francis Atuahene
Journal of Higher Education in Africa,
Vol. 7 No. 3 (2009): Journal of Higher Education in Africa
Abstract
The Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), funded by a percentage of the national Value Added Tax, has had as its purpose, since its establish- ment in 2000, the enhancement of primary, secondary and particularly terti- ary education. This research paper examines the perceptions of key stakeholders as to the contributions, thus far, of the GETFund in address- ing principal objectives and challenges such as infrastructural develop- ment, research and faculty development, the promotion of technology, mathematics and scientific education, student access and gender equity. Through the lens of stakeholders, recommendations are offered for poten- tial enhancements to the GETFund and for its adaptation to other national circumstances. The analysis of this paper is primarily a combination of the perceptions of stakeholders such as vice-chancellors, pro-vice-chancel- lors, registrars, principals, legislators, student leaders, public officials, etc., as well as available GETFund disbursement formulae and policy papers from 2001 to 2006. The outcome of this study is a series of judgements on the contribution of the GETFund compared to prior government objectives and recommendations relevant to the adaptation of the programme in other nations.
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- African Development Bank, 2005, ‘Ghana: Evaluation of Bank Assistance to Education Sector’, Retrieved on March 2007 from http://www.afdb.org/pls/portal/docs/PAGE/ADB_ADMIN_PG/DOCUMENTS/EVALUATIONREPORTS/EN_GHANApercent20EDUC ATIONpercent20SECT ORper cent20EVALUATION.PDF
- Baah-Wiredu, K., 2003, Speech delivered by the Minister of Education, Youth and Sports at the Meet the Press series. Retrieved January 15, 2006, from http:// www.ghana.gov.gh/dexadd/meys.pdf
- Benneh, G., 2002, ‘Research Management in Africa’, Higher Education Policy, 15 (3), 249-262.
- Effah, P., 2003, ‘Ghana’, in D. Teffera & P. G. Altbach, eds., African Higher Education: An International Reference Handbook (pp. 338- 349). Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
- Ghana Education Trust Fund Bill, Act 581, 2000, Assembly Press, Accra: Ghana.
- Ghana Education Trust Fund, 2001, Disbursement Formula submitted to the Parliament of Ghana, Accra: Ghana.
- Ghana Education Trust Fund, 2002, Disbursement Formula submitted to the Parliament of Ghana, Accra: Ghana.
- Ghana Education Trust Fund, 2003, Disbursement Formula submitted to the Parliament of Ghana, Accra: Ghana.
- Ghana Education Trust Fund, 2004, Disbursement Formula submitted to the Parliament of Ghana, Accra: Ghana.
- Ghana Education Trust Fund, 2005, Disbursement Formula submitted to the Parliament of Ghana, Accra: Ghana.
- Kigotho, W., 2004, ‘A “Swarthmore” Grows in Ghana: Unexpected Wealth led an American-educated Businessman to Start a Small Private College’, The Chronicle of Higher Education. 51(11), A36.
- Kukla, A., 2000, Social Constructivism and the Philosophy of Science, London: Routledge.
- Ministry of Education, 1996, ‘International Conference on Education’, National report presented to the 45th Session of the International Conference on Education, Geneva, Retrieved on September 2004 from http://www.ibe.unesco.org./countries/ countryDossier/natrep96/Ghana96.pdf
- Ministry of Education, Science and Sports, 2008, Preliminary Education Sector Performance Report, 2008, Accra, Ghana.
- Osafo-Maafo, Y., 2004, Republic Of Ghana: The Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government of Ghana for the 2001 Financial Year presented to Parliament. Retrieved on March 2003 from http://siteresources.worldbank.org/ GHANAEXTN/Resources/bud2004.pdf.
- Osafo-Maafo, Y., 2001, Republic of Ghana: The Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government of Ghana for the 2001 Financial Year presented to Parliament. Retrieved on March 2003 from http://www.ghanareview.com/ Budget2001.htm.
- Parliamentary Debates Official Report, 2003, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, Accra: Ghana.
- Patton, Q.M., 2002, Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods (3rd ed.), Thousand Oaks: Sage.
- Public Affairs Department, Embassy of Ghana, Washington DC, 2004, ‘SSNIT Calls for Repayment of Student Loans in the United States’, General News. Retrieved March 11, 2005 from http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/ artikel.php?ID=65132.
- Republic of Ghana, 2004, ‘The Development of Education National Report of Ghana’, A paper presented by the basic education division - Ghana Education Service at the forty-seventh session of the International Conference on Education (ICE), Geneva. Retrieved on May 2006 from http://www.ibe.unesco.org/international/ ICE47/English/Natreps/reports/ghana.pdf.
- Republic of Ghana, 2003, ‘Development of Senior Secondary Education Project (Education III) Appraisal Report’, ADF/BD/WP/2003/96. Retrieved on June 2009 from
- http://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Project-and-Operations/GH-2003-096-EN-ADF-BD-WP-REV.1-GHANA-REV-AR-EDUCATION- III.PDF
- Rossouw, H., 2001, ‘Bad Loans Burden Ghana’s Student Aid’, The Chronicle of Higher Education, November.
- Rubin, J.H, & Rubin, S. I., 2005, Qualitative Interviewing: The Art of Hearing from Data, Thousand Oaks: Sage.
- SAPRI, Ghana, 2001, ‘The impact of SAP on Access to and Quality of Tertiary Education Ghana’, Retrieved on June 11, 2005, from http://www.saprin.org/ghana/ research/gha_education.pdf.
- Sawyerr, A., 2004, ‘Challenges Facing Africa Universities: Selected issues’, African Studies Review, 47 (1), 1-59.
- Sawyerr, A., 2001, ‘The Student Loans Scheme: Two Decades of Experience in Ghana’, National Council for Tertiary Education, Tertiary Education Series 1(3), 1-12.
- The Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, 1992, Retrieved February 15 2008 from http://www.judicial.gov.gh/constitutionper cent20ofper cent20ghana/home.htm The National Council for Tertiary Education, 1998, Paul Effah, ed., ‘Report on Funding
- Tertiary Education’, Technical Report Series, 1(1), 1-16.
- World Bank, 2000, ‘Higher Education in Developing Countries Peril and Promise: The Task Force on
- Higher Education and Society Report’, Retrieved on March 2004 from
- http://www.tfhe.net/report/downloads/report/whole.pdf.
References
African Development Bank, 2005, ‘Ghana: Evaluation of Bank Assistance to Education Sector’, Retrieved on March 2007 from http://www.afdb.org/pls/portal/docs/PAGE/ADB_ADMIN_PG/DOCUMENTS/EVALUATIONREPORTS/EN_GHANApercent20EDUC ATIONpercent20SECT ORper cent20EVALUATION.PDF
Baah-Wiredu, K., 2003, Speech delivered by the Minister of Education, Youth and Sports at the Meet the Press series. Retrieved January 15, 2006, from http:// www.ghana.gov.gh/dexadd/meys.pdf
Benneh, G., 2002, ‘Research Management in Africa’, Higher Education Policy, 15 (3), 249-262.
Effah, P., 2003, ‘Ghana’, in D. Teffera & P. G. Altbach, eds., African Higher Education: An International Reference Handbook (pp. 338- 349). Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
Ghana Education Trust Fund Bill, Act 581, 2000, Assembly Press, Accra: Ghana.
Ghana Education Trust Fund, 2001, Disbursement Formula submitted to the Parliament of Ghana, Accra: Ghana.
Ghana Education Trust Fund, 2002, Disbursement Formula submitted to the Parliament of Ghana, Accra: Ghana.
Ghana Education Trust Fund, 2003, Disbursement Formula submitted to the Parliament of Ghana, Accra: Ghana.
Ghana Education Trust Fund, 2004, Disbursement Formula submitted to the Parliament of Ghana, Accra: Ghana.
Ghana Education Trust Fund, 2005, Disbursement Formula submitted to the Parliament of Ghana, Accra: Ghana.
Kigotho, W., 2004, ‘A “Swarthmore” Grows in Ghana: Unexpected Wealth led an American-educated Businessman to Start a Small Private College’, The Chronicle of Higher Education. 51(11), A36.
Kukla, A., 2000, Social Constructivism and the Philosophy of Science, London: Routledge.
Ministry of Education, 1996, ‘International Conference on Education’, National report presented to the 45th Session of the International Conference on Education, Geneva, Retrieved on September 2004 from http://www.ibe.unesco.org./countries/ countryDossier/natrep96/Ghana96.pdf
Ministry of Education, Science and Sports, 2008, Preliminary Education Sector Performance Report, 2008, Accra, Ghana.
Osafo-Maafo, Y., 2004, Republic Of Ghana: The Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government of Ghana for the 2001 Financial Year presented to Parliament. Retrieved on March 2003 from http://siteresources.worldbank.org/ GHANAEXTN/Resources/bud2004.pdf.
Osafo-Maafo, Y., 2001, Republic of Ghana: The Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government of Ghana for the 2001 Financial Year presented to Parliament. Retrieved on March 2003 from http://www.ghanareview.com/ Budget2001.htm.
Parliamentary Debates Official Report, 2003, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, Accra: Ghana.
Patton, Q.M., 2002, Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods (3rd ed.), Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Public Affairs Department, Embassy of Ghana, Washington DC, 2004, ‘SSNIT Calls for Repayment of Student Loans in the United States’, General News. Retrieved March 11, 2005 from http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/ artikel.php?ID=65132.
Republic of Ghana, 2004, ‘The Development of Education National Report of Ghana’, A paper presented by the basic education division - Ghana Education Service at the forty-seventh session of the International Conference on Education (ICE), Geneva. Retrieved on May 2006 from http://www.ibe.unesco.org/international/ ICE47/English/Natreps/reports/ghana.pdf.
Republic of Ghana, 2003, ‘Development of Senior Secondary Education Project (Education III) Appraisal Report’, ADF/BD/WP/2003/96. Retrieved on June 2009 from
Rossouw, H., 2001, ‘Bad Loans Burden Ghana’s Student Aid’, The Chronicle of Higher Education, November.
Rubin, J.H, & Rubin, S. I., 2005, Qualitative Interviewing: The Art of Hearing from Data, Thousand Oaks: Sage.
SAPRI, Ghana, 2001, ‘The impact of SAP on Access to and Quality of Tertiary Education Ghana’, Retrieved on June 11, 2005, from http://www.saprin.org/ghana/ research/gha_education.pdf.
Sawyerr, A., 2004, ‘Challenges Facing Africa Universities: Selected issues’, African Studies Review, 47 (1), 1-59.
Sawyerr, A., 2001, ‘The Student Loans Scheme: Two Decades of Experience in Ghana’, National Council for Tertiary Education, Tertiary Education Series 1(3), 1-12.
The Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, 1992, Retrieved February 15 2008 from http://www.judicial.gov.gh/constitutionper cent20ofper cent20ghana/home.htm The National Council for Tertiary Education, 1998, Paul Effah, ed., ‘Report on Funding
Tertiary Education’, Technical Report Series, 1(1), 1-16.
World Bank, 2000, ‘Higher Education in Developing Countries Peril and Promise: The Task Force on
Higher Education and Society Report’, Retrieved on March 2004 from