IMF Bailout: Civil Society Organizations Has Petitioned IMF Board.
IMF Bailout: Africa Education Watch with other Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) has petitioned the board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to
take out expenditure cuts included in the deal in the basic education sector to improve quality education in Ghana.
In a communique sighted by the myhealthink editorial team, the education think tank said the brutal expenditure cut in the education sector is making it difficult for the country to meet conditionalities for its Extended Credit Facility application.
IMF Bailout: The reductions in education funding, according to this report, have had a significant impact on the distribution of funds for the provision of teaching and learning materials in public elementary schools, increasing them by more than 40%.
Textbooks, which have been in short supply ever since a new curriculum was implemented four years ago, capital grant funding, and basic school infrastructure are among the teaching and learning resources that are affected, according to the Watch.
IMF Bailout
The expenditure cut, the Education Policy Research Organization also said has threatened to reduce the number of beneficiaries of the one hot meal a day intervention for 3.5 million public basic school children by up to 25 percent.
“These pernicious expenditure cuts are happening at a critical time when 1 million Ghanaian children aged 4-18 are out of school, over 5,000 public basic schools exist under trees, sheds, and dilapidated structures
2.3 million public basic school children in the country do not have access to desks, and less than a quarter of primary school graduates are exhibiting minimum competencies in Mathematics and English
This is not only inimical to the attainment of universal basic enrolment and completion with relevant learning outcomes by 2030, but the sustenance of modest gains made recently in enhancing equitable access,” it noted.
The over 600 Civil Society Organizations across the country following their concerns jointly have petitioned the International Monetary Fund to restore the 40 percent cuts in the basic education budget for goods and services.
The education think tanks have also asked the international financial agency to review the 2023 budget to reflect a minimum of 15 percent national budgetary allocation and 4 percent of GDP to education.
IMF Bailout: The Civil Society Organization’s (CSOs) petition comes after the Monetary Fund on December 12, 2022, reached a staff-level agreement with the government on economic policies and reforms to be supported by about US$ 3 billion.
Credit: myjoyonline
