Mr Haruna Iddrisu, the Minister for Education, says the government will spend about one billion Ghana cedis from the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) on expanded infrastructure to address the double-track system.
He said the move was part of the ‘Reset Agenda’ of the Mahama-led government, intended to improve quality education across the country.
Haruna Iddrisu said, “Next year, under the Reset Agenda of President Mahama, the government will spend GH¢1 Billion of GETFund to deal with expanded infrastructure to respond to the double-track system.
“The President has already instructed the Minister for Finance to incorporate this in his 2026 budget,” the Minister, who is the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Tamale South Constituency, said at the Zebilla Senior High Technical School (ZSHTS) in the Bawku West District of the Upper East Region.
Mr Iddrisu was on a day’s working visit to some selected Senior High Technical Schools in the region, including the Bolgatanga Technical Institute, which was recently involved in student riots.
The sector Minister also interacted with students of the Zamese Senior High Technical School (ZSHTS) who were scheduled to sit the Integrated Science paper in the ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), and inspected some infrastructure on the campus.
He acknowledged the deterioration of general education infrastructure across the country, which was affecting the quality of learning, noting that “Learning resources and aids are not even available for you.”
He further assured management and students of the school that “Next year, around this time, I will be here to commission the Home Economics block on this campus. So we will do our best to capture you in the 2026 formula of the GETFund.”
Mr Iddrisu urged the 506 candidates of the school to imbibe in themselves honesty, discipline and tolerance as they were the future leaders of the country, saying, “Who knows, the next President of the Republic, the next MP, Minister, can come from amongst you,” he told the students.
He stressed the need for them to restore and maintain peace, insisting that “You need it, Ghana needs it, the entire Bawku area needs it. We must allow learning to thrive in an atmosphere of peace and tolerance.
“Let us respect the value of unity, tolerance, honesty and discipline. Where there is discipline and tolerance, I am certain there will be no conflict. I want us to work to guarantee peace,” the Minister said.
Mr Iddrisu emphasised that education remained the surest bet to fight and end poverty and ignorance in Northern Ghana, and advised the students to give the examination their best, and expressed confidence that “their learning will not be in vain.”
Mr Ebenezer Alumire Ndebila, the MP for the Zebilla Constituency, appealed to the Minister to consider the completion of an E-Block at Sapeliga, a community in the Constituency.
Mr Iddrisu was in the company of Mr Donatus Akamugri Atanga, the Upper East Regional Minister, Dr Munawaru Issahaque, the Deputy Director-General of the Ghana Education Service, among other officials from the GES and the Ministry.
