President John Dramani Mahama on Friday unveiled the Free Tertiary Education Policy for Persons with Disability (PWDs) in Accra.
The initiative aims to provide equal access to higher education, particularly for persons with disabilities.
Speaking at the official launch of the initiative, which took place at the Accra College of Education, President Mahama said the event marked a new and defining moment in Ghana’s journey towards inclusion and equality.
The event was on the theme: “Disability Not Inability Advancing Inclusive Access to Higher Education”, under the Government’s Reset Agenda.
The President said the initiative was not merely a policy launch, saying, “It is an activation of our national conscience and our sense of equity and justice. It is a reminder that the soul of any nation is measured by how it treats its most vulnerable citizens”.
President Mahama quoted former South African President Nelson Mandela as having said that “a nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens but its lowest ones”.
According to the 2021 Population and Housing Census, there are more than two million Ghanaians living with disability.
He noted, however, that behind this statistic, behind this figure, were real human stories.
“Stories of perseverance, of talent waiting to be nurtured and of dreams that deserve to be fulfilled. Too many still face barriers of poverty, of stigma, of lack of access to education and livelihood opportunity,” the President said.
“These are not just individual challenges. They represent a national loss. When we exclude, we waste talent. But when we include and empower, we multiply national progress.”
He said the collective task was to ensure that no Ghanaian was denied the chance to learn, to work and to serve because of disability.
He said in 2006, under the administration of President John Agyekum Kufuor, Parliament passed Act 715, the Persons with Disabilities Act.
President Mahama said in 2012, under his leadership, Ghana ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, aligning the country’s laws with global standards of equality and dignity.
“In 2015, we introduced the Inclusive Education Policy, which opened mainstream schools to learners with disabilities and began the process of transforming our educational culture,” he said.
“Today, we are advancing that vision one bold step further. The Free Tertiary for Persons with Disabilities Initiative fulfils a pledge I made to the people of Ghana to make higher education accessible to all, regardless of fiscal condition or circumstances.”
The President said under the programme, persons with disabilities who gain admission into accredited public tertiary institutions would have their fees fully covered by the state.
He said the implementation of the initiative would be led by the revamped Student Loan Trust Fund, which was now modernised and digitised to ensure transparency, efficiency, and sustainability.
The President said the National Scholarship Authority had administered a limited scholarship for persons with disabilities in the past, saying, “But with this launch today, we are integrating the scholarship administered by the National Scholarship Authority in the past with a new universal disability scholarship under the Student Loan Fund Trust”.
“And let me emphasise, this initiative is not an act of charity. It is an act of justice and equality. It is a strategic investment in Ghana’s most valuable resource, that is, its people.”
President Mahama said each student supported under the policy would become an asset to the nation; “a potential engineer, a teacher, an entrepreneur, a farmer or innovator, their success will strengthen Ghana’s economy and enrich our collective humanity”.
The President said the Free Tertiary Education for Persons with Disabilities initiative was a landmark one in Ghana’s story of social justice.
“It affirms that inclusion is not a favour, it is a right, and that equality is not charity, it is the foundation of our national progress. Let this prove that Ghana chooses justice over indifference, that Ghana chooses inclusion over exclusion,” he said.
“And so with the pride in our national compassion and faith in our collective future, I hereby have the privilege to declare the Free Tertiary for Persons with Disabilities initiative officially launched. May this programme light the path for many generations to come.”
He said the initiative reminded them that every Ghanaian, regardless of their ability, deserves to dream and to rise as far as they could.
Mr Joseph Atsu Humadzi, President, Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations, expressed gratitude to President John Dramani Mahama for the initiative, which would enable them to gain equal access to higher education.
