Influence and Challenges of the Capitation Grant on Education Delivery in Basic Schools in Ghana

Abstract

In Ghana, some children do not attend school, because their parents are unable to afford levies and fees charged by schools. This led to the introduction of the Capitation Grant Scheme in 2005. This study investigates the influence of the Capitation Grant Scheme on education delivery in basic schools in Ghana, through a close study of the Ga West Municipality. It is a descriptive survey, involving teachers, head teachers and parents as the target population. Purposive, stratified and simple random sampling techniques were used to select participants, while questionnaire and documentary sources were used as instruments to gather information which was summarized statistically in percentages and analysed in themes. The main finding revealed that the introduction of the Capitation Grant Scheme was found to be very relevant and has led to an increase in enrolment in basic schools. However, the increase in enrolment brought about some challenges such as inadequate classrooms, furniture, textbooks, teaching and learning materials and a high pupil-teacher ratio. The researchers recommend an increase in the quantum of the grant per pupil and direct payment into the accounts of schools to reduce annual delays in disbursement.

Agenda to adoption: understanding the mechanisms driving fee-free policy development in Sub-Saharan Africa through policy change frameworks

“…As mentioned earlier, the immediate aim of a fee-free policy is to respond to the low rate of enrolment at the high school level. In the mid-2000s, enrolment rate at the basic level of education increased due to other several interventions such as the school feeding programme and an increase in capitation grants (Akyeampong, 2009 ; Ampratwum & Armah-attoh, 2010 ; Pajibo & Tamanja, 2017 ). This event led to an increase in the number of people seeking upper secondary education.…”

Responding to access and beyond in Fee-free policies: Comparative Review of Progressive Free Senior High and Free Senior High School policies in Ghana

“…Beyond access in fee-free policies, insufficient and delay in the release of funds have characterised access-oriented basic education policies in Ghana such as the Capitation Grant and School Feeding Programme (Ampratwum & Armah-attoh, 2010;Pajibo & Tamanja, 2017). This seems to continue in access-oriented interventions at the upper secondary education.…”

“…Ghana is not an exception from this general outlook in SSA. The country has pursued a range of policies at the basic level to promote access such as Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE), Capitation Grant, and School Feeding Programme (Akyeampong, 2009;Ampratwum & Armah-attoh, 2010;Pajibo & Tamanja, 2017). However, the transition to upper secondary is low.…”

Education and Livelihood in Ghana: Evidence from Instrumental Variable Analysis

“…According to Corcoran et al (2020) no matter the efforts people put into learning, if the teaching and learning environment is not favorable, then the quality of education is a problem. Even though the education system has experienced reforms and reviews over the years, their cumulative effects have not yielded the desired goals as significant issues still exist (Pajibo & Tamanja, 2017). Corcoran et al (2020) noted that Ghana has inadequate schools, a low teacher-to-pupil ratio, and high illiteracy rates, especially in rural parts of the country.…”