Joseph Kwame Kumah, Member of Parliament for Kintampo North
Joseph Kwame Kumah, Member of Parliament for Kintampo North and Vice Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Education, has called for a long-term national plan for education.
He stated that such a plan should span at least 75 years to ensure sustainable development and adequate infrastructure for future generations.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency during the committee’s visit to Mawuli School and OLA Senior High School in Ho, Kumah emphasized that Ghana must begin planning beyond short-term political cycles if it hopes to sustain its free education policy.
“With population growth increasing at a geometric rate and infrastructure struggling to keep pace, no government, whether in the next five or ten years—can deliver free education effectively without long-term planning,” he stressed.
He explained that the committee’s tour, which began at Kimbu Senior High School in Accra and extended through parts of the Greater Accra, Volta, and Eastern Regions, has revealed a consistent pattern of challenges: insufficient furniture, overcrowded dormitories, inadequate classrooms, and limited teaching and learning resources.
“Even the tablets provided by the government lack the updated materials they were supposed to come with. First-year students are now left without any meaningful reference tools, and teachers are expected to manage without proper resources.”
Kumah emphasized that while the free education policy is commendable, it cannot be sustained without investment in infrastructure and support systems.
“If all our budget is spent on feeding and clothing students without expanding infrastructure, we are heading toward a crisis,” he warned.
He urged stakeholders across the education sector to convene and engage in an honest national conversation about the way forward.
“Should we cut costs on feeding to invest in infrastructure? Should we reduce boarding intake and promote more day students to ease the financial burden and expand access? These are tough but necessary questions,” he said.
He cautioned that if the current trajectory continues, no country—not even a wealthy one like the United States—can sustain such a system without proper long-term planning.
Meanwhile, management at Mawuli School and OLA Senior High School appealed to the committee to intervene in the completion of stalled infrastructure projects, including dormitories and classroom blocks, to help address their pressing needs.
