MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
EDUCATION FINANCE BRIEF, GHANA
(COUNTRY PRESENTATION)
HARMONY HOTEL, ADDIS ABABA
November 07, 2012
BACKGROUND ON THE EDUCATION FINANCE BRIEF
CONTEXT:
This education finance brief is produced in the context of the UIS
education finance capacity building project.
PURPOSE:
The purpose is to provide an overview of the education financing in
Ghana over the last decade.
CONTENT:
The document is structured around key policy questions based on the
availability of data. These policy questions are extracted from a list of
ten questions suggested by UIS in the framework of the project.
THE TEN POLICY QUESTIONS
1.
2.
How large is the public education expenditure in your country?
What is the breakdown of expenditure by levels of government and
administration (ministries)?
3. What is the breakdown of current and capital expenditure?
4. How much is allocated to each level of education?
5. How much is allocated to different nature of expenditure?
6. How large is the contribution of development partners in educational
development?
7. How large is the households’ expenditure in educational
development? (If data are available)
8. How much is spent for each student at each level of education?
9. Is public education expenditure spent in an equitable manner (if data
are available and this is a serious concern to your country)?
10. Is remuneration policy sustainable (if data are available and this is a
serious concern to your country)?
Q1: How large is the public education expenditure in
Ghana?
Current Situation
 In 2010, the government of
Ghana spent GH¢2,564,363,357
for the education sector.
 Government total spending in
Ghana for 2010 was
GH¢11,039,923,940.
Education Expenditure as % of Total Government Expenditure, 2004-2010
3000%
As % of Total Spending
As % of GDP
26.5
2500%
22.3
22.0
23.8
23.2
21.0
FTI target
2000%
18.3
 In 2010, education expenditure
as a % of total government
expenditure
was 23.2%.
 From 2004-2010 the education
expenditures as % of total
government expenditures ranged
between 18.3% and 26.5%. After a
downward pattern from 2005 to
2007, it has been in growing trend
since 2008.
1500%
9.9
1000%
500%
7.5
7.6
9.8
9.0
9.1
8.3
0%
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
Situation Against Benchmarks
• FTI target for education expenditure as a % of total government expenditure is 20%.
• Ghana, with the exception of 2008 (18.3%) has met the target from 2004 to 2010.
• In 2010 Ghana was 3.2 percentage points beyond the FTI target.
Q1: How large is the public education expenditure
in Ghana (cont’d)?
Policy recommendation:
Currently, Ghana allocates 23.20% of its budget to education while FTI benchmark recommends
20%. This implies that government is spending more than it should on Education. Ghana needs to
improve upon the internal efficiency of education management in order to create value for money
through;
(i)
Efficient use of resources.
•The biometric registration of all Civil and Public service staff.
•Strict adherence to the procurement law.
•Meeting the required PTR across the various levels of education.
(ii) Efficient targeting mechanism for policy interventions.
•The introduction of the common targeting mechanism among five (5) sector ministries,
Education, Health, Employment and Social Welfare, Local Government and Agriculture.
•Periodic monitoring and evaluation of social protection programs like Free School
Uniform Program among others.
Q1: How large is the public education expenditure
in Ghana (cont’d)?
Ghana compared to
ECOWAS countries
International Comparism of Education Expenditure as a % of Total
Government Expenditure
30
• Between 2006-2009, Ghana
allocated 23.1% of its resources to
education,
which is second highest among the
10 neighbouring countries.
• Among the ECOWAS sub-region,
Ghana ranks 2nd in terms of share
of Government expenditure allocated
to education after Cote d’Ivoire.
•The 3 countries with lowest shares
are: Liberia (12.1%), Cape Verde
(13.8%) and Benin (15.9%).
25
20
17.6
18.1
Togo
Sierra
Leone
21.8
22.3
Burkina
Faso
Mali
24.4
24.6
Ghana
Cote
d'Ívoire
19
15.9
13.8
15
12.1
10
5
0
Liberia
Cape
Verde
Benin
Senegal
Q1: How large is the public education expenditure
in Ghana (cont’d)?
International Comparison of Education Expenditure as a % of Total Government
Expenditure
30
24.4
25
21
20
16.9
16.2
15
12.6
11.4
10
5
Gh
an
a
ia
Sw
az
ila
nd
qu
e
bi
M
oz
am
So
ut
h
Af
r
ica
an
a
Bo
ts
w
s
he
lle
Se
yc
iti
us
0
M
au
r
 In 2009, most SADC countries
reported higher GDP per capita
than Ghana. However in 20062009, the % of Ghana’s public
expenditure on education as a %
of total government expenditure
ranks 1st among SADC
countries.
22.4
21.6
Na
m
ib
Ghana compared to
some SADC countries
Q2: What is the breakdown of expenditure by levels of
government and administration (ministries)?
The Ministry of Education implements education budget in Ghana. The
ministries that are providing educational services in the country include the
Ministry of Education (MoE), the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Food and
Agriculture, the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare, the Ministry of
Youth and Sports. The MoE is by far the main educational services provider in
Ghana. Government expenditure for the MoE usually represents more than
90% of the total Public Education Expenditure. Breakdown of education
expenditure by other sector ministries is not readily available.
Q3: What is the breakdown of current and capital
expenditure?
Ghana’s current education
expenditure increased from
GH¢123,969,039 in 2004 to
GH¢2,131,174,643 in 2010.
• For the same period, capital
expenditure increased from
GH¢25,993,098 to
GH¢433,188,894.
90%
80%
83.1%
82.7%
• In 2010 current expenditure
70%
represents 83.1% of total
60%
education expenditure as against
50%
16.9% of capital expenditure.
74.6%
79.8%
79.0%
72.1%
65.3%
40%
 The figure shows that capital
expenditure from 2008 to 2010
represented ¼ of Ghana’s total
expenditure on education.
 Over the years, current
expenditure increased from
65.3% in 2005 to 83.1% in 2010.
 Over the same period, capital
expenditure dropped from a high
of 34.7% to 16.9%. That was a
drop of 18.6 p.p.
30%
20%
34.7%
25.4%
17.3%
10%
20.2%
13.4%
16.9%
21.0%
0%
2004
2005
2006
% of Current Expenditure
2007
2008
2009
2010
% of Capital Expenditure
Q4: How much is allocated to each level
of education?
Analysis of Public Expenditure
by Levels of Education
 From 2006 to 2010, primary
education has been allocated
with an average of 31.2% of the
total government expenditure on
education.
Average Allocation of Resources to Different Levels of Education (2006-2010)
Tertiary
21.6
Teacher Education
2.9
NFED
0.4
SPED
0.5
TVET
 Average allocation to Special
Education, Non-formal and TVET
education is just a little over 2%
over the same period.
1.2
Higher Secondary
14.2
Lower Secondary
15.9
Primary
31.2
Pre-school
3.4
0.0
5.0
10.0
15.0
20.0
25.0
30.0
35.0
Q4: How much is allocated to each
level of education (cont’d)?
Analysis of Public Expenditure on
Primary Education
25%
20.0%
20%
14.4%
15%
15.6%
10%
2.8%
5%
1.5%
0.7%
0.5%
2.4%
Te
rt i
ar
y
at
io
n
D
Ed
uc
NF
E
ED
SP
TV
ET
SH
S
JH
S
ar
y
Pr
im
ol
0%
Te
ac
he
r
 In 2010, the government of Ghana
expended 45.1% of her resource
allocation to education on Basic
education (Pre-school to Junior High
School).
27.9%
ch
o
 Expenditure on tertiary education
ranked 2nd to that of primary
education. That was 20.0% of the total
allocation to education went to tertiary
level of education.
30%
-S
 Less than 1% of the country’s total
expenditure was expended on Special
Education (SPED) and Non-Formal
Education in 2010 respectively.
Expenditure by Level of Education in 2010
Pr
e
 In 2010 Ghana’s resource allocation
to primary education was 27.9%. This
was 22.1 p.p. less than the benchmark
set by EFA-FTI (50%).
Q5: How much is allocated to different nature of
expenditure?
 There was a gradual decline of
resource allocation to primary education
in Ghana from 2008 to 2010.
 Resource allocation to primary
education as at 2010 summed up to
27.9%.
 Expenditure on primary education was
highest between 2007 and 2008. That
may be partly due the mainstreaming of
pre-school as part of primary education at
the time. The expenditures were 35.0%
and 35.2% respectively.
 In 2008, most ECOWAS countries
allocated more resources to primary
education than Ghana.
 Ghana may have to increase
substantially resource allocation to
primary education in order to meet EFAFTI benchmark and also catch up with the
sub-regional average.
Evolution of Education Expenditure allocated to primary as a % of Public
Government Expenditure at all Levels: 2006-2010
40.%
35.%
35.0%
35.2%
30.5%
30.%
27.9%
27.6%
25.%
20.%
15.%
10.%
5.%
0.%
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
How much is allocated to different nature of
expenditure?
Current and Capital Expenditure by Level of Education, 2010
95.3
95.6
99.8
95.0
75.2
80
69.9
65.9
56.1
43.9
60
34.1
40
30.1
24.8
0.8
n
ED
Te
ac
he
r
Ed
uc
SP
TV
ET
Pr
e
SH
S
0.2
Te
rt
ia
ry
5.0
4.4
ar
y
ch
o
ol
4.7
JH
S
20
-S
99.2
at
io
 Special Education had a fair balance
between current and capital
expenditures in 2010. That was 56.1%
of current expenditure as against
43.9% of capital expenditure.
0
100
D
120
NF
E
 With the exception of Upper
Secondary, Special and Tertiary
Education levels, capital expenditure
for 2010 was less than 10% of the total
education expenditures to such levels
as Pre-school, Primary, JHS, NFED
and Teacher Education.
Pr
im
 In 2010, for all levels of education,
current expenditure was higher than
capital expenditure.
% of current expenditure
% of capital expenditure
Q6: How large is the contribution of development
partners in educational development?
Contribution of Development Partners in education development as
a % Education Expenditure
 Total contribution of
Development Partners to
education in 2010 summed up
to GH¢64,742,440.45.
 The above figure was 2.5%
of total resource allocated to
the education sector in that
year.
 Donor financing to education
over the years dropped from a
high of 8.9% in 2005 to 2.5% in
relation to total education
expenditure for 2010.
% of Donor Funding to Education
Sector
10.0
9.0
8.0
7.0
6.0
5.0
4.0
3.0
2.0
1.0
0.0
8.9
7.3
6.8
5.8
4.9
2.7
2004
2005
2006
2.5
2007
2008
2009
2010
Q7: How large is households’ expenditure in
educational development?
Despite the introduction of free and Compulsory Universal Basic Education (fCUBE) programme
embarked on by the Ministry of Education during the Education Reform (1987), households
continue to contribute in one way or the other towards the education of children of school going
age.
1. Existence of rural-urban
differences in household
expenditures in schools and
colleges.
2.Amount spent by households
on education increases as
one moves higher on the
education ladder. This is
particularly so with the
proportion of the total
amount spent on school and
registration fees as well as
the amount spent on books
and school supplies.
ITEM
School and
Registration Fess
Contributions to
PTA
ACCRA
OTHE
R
URBA
N
RURAL
COAST
AL
RURAL
RURAL
SAVAN
NA
ALL
AMOUN
T
%
99.50
35.05
8.27
11.33
4.02
25.13
28.3
2.74
1.99
0.90
0.92
0.50
1.29
1.5
9.44
55.84
4.52
4.28
3.14
5.06
5.7
Transportation
28.12
30.92
11.41
6.22
5.00
4.32
4.90
2.96
2.40
0.51
8.49
6.37
9.6
7.2
Food, Boarding &
Lodging
88.59
43.58
29.15
31.00
9.96
36.10
40.7
20.14
7.39
1.35
0.54
280.80 162.02
3.21
0.64
56.01
3.38
0.49
59.26
0.51
0.19
21.23
5.64
0.56
88.64
6.4
0.6
100.0
Uniforms, Sports &
Clothes
Books and School
Supplies
Expenses on Extra
Classes
In-kind Expenses
Total
Q7: How large is households’ expenditure in
educational development?
Policy Recommendation
The Government of Ghana, through the Ministry of Education has vigorously embarked
on interventions to pupils in basic public schools in recent time. For 2012,
•Capitation Grant (100%),
•Free Exercise Books (12.1 million)
• Free Uniforms (428,155)
•Free Meals (1.4 million children)
•Laptops (60,000).
However with the exception of the Capitation Grant, these programs cannot be said to
have achieved 100% coverage. Probably there is the need to retarget the vulnerable (rural
coastal, forest & savanna) to improve on level of equity.
Q8: How much is spent for each student at each level of
education?
Unit Cost per Child by Level of Education, 2004-2010
Level
Primary
JHS
SHS
TVET
TERTIARY
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
Per Capita GH¢
49.21
93.24
151.65
168.44
223.59
Unit Cost GH¢
45.79
83.11
142.09
158.42
213.75
Per Capita GH¢
88.73
127.47
206.57
242.95
336.37
Unit Cost GH¢
83.69
114.76
192.98
227.91
319.60
Per Capita GH¢
221.76
328.54
291.36
617.61
602.91
Unit Cost GH¢
134.65
128.05
211.32
558.36
397.33
Per Capita GH¢
105.34
107.46
284.70
776.21
1827.34
Unit Cost GH¢
104.50
106.88
229.13
570.28
1375.00
Per Capita GH¢
949.85
1426.46
2015.55
2298.72
2843.40
Unit Cost GH¢
620.42
1026.40
1512.70
1785.13
1988.62
Unit cost per child increases as pupils’ progress through the
educational ladder. For instance in 2010, it cost the country
GH¢213.75 to educate a child at the primary level. At the same
time an amount of GH¢1,988.62 was expended on the one at the
tertiary level.
Q8: How much is spent for each student at each
level of education?
 Unit cost for Primary education in
Ghana steadily increased from
GH¢45.79 in 2006 to GH¢213.8 in
2010 which represent about 467%
increase.
 Unit cost at the Upper Secondary
level rather shows an oscillating curve.
From a unit cost of GH¢134.65 in
2006, the cost moved to an all time
high of GH¢558.36 in 2009 and
dropped to GH¢397.3 in 2010.
600.00
500.00
Unit Cost in GH¢
 Over the same period, unit cost at
the Lower Secondary moved from
GH¢83.69 to GH¢319.6 which is 382%
increase.
Unit Cost per Child by Level of Education, 2006-2009
400.00
300.00
200.00
100.00
0.00
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
Primary
45.79
83.11
142.09
158.42
213.75
Lower Secondary
83.69
114.76
192.98
227.91
319.60
Upper Secondary
134.65
128.05
211.32
558.36
397.33
Policy Implication
As part of the new education reform introduced in 2007 to extend the duration of Senior High School
duration to four years, massive investment was made in 2009 to accommodate the first cohort of forth
year in 2010.
THE GHANA TEAM
Edward Dogbey
Elliot Nii Lantey Lamptey
Kwame Agyapong Apiadu-Agyin
Robert
Ntseful
Emmanuel Amoah
Baba Seidu Fuseini
Emmanuel Newman(Dr)
INSTITUTION
MOE
MOE
MOE
GES
GES
MOFEP
NCTE