Accra: President John Dramani Mahama has launched the Free Tertiary Education for Persons with Disability initiative, highlighting the policy as a moral responsibility rather than an act of charity. During the launch event, President Mahama emphasized that each student supported under this initiative becomes an asset to the nation, potentially contributing as engineers, teachers, entrepreneurs, farmers, or innovators. He stated that their success would strengthen Ghana’s economy and enrich the collective humanity of the nation.
According to African Press Organization, President Mahama underscored that the policy aims to provide equal access to higher education, especially for persons with disabilities, and is viewed as a strategic investment in Ghana’s most valuable resource: its people. He referenced the 2021 Population and Housing Census, noting that more than two million Ghanaians live with disabilities, stressing that behind these statistics are real human stories of perseverance and dreams that deserve fulfillment.
President Mahama called upon all stakeholders, including corporate entities, to actively promote inclusion. He reiterated the collective task of ensuring that no Ghanaian is denied opportunities to learn, work, and serve due to disability. He pointed out that Ghana has been proactive in this endeavor, citing the introduction of the Inclusive Education Policy in 2015, which opened mainstream schools to learners with disabilities and began transforming the educational culture of the country.
The President announced that the Free Tertiary Education for Persons with Disabilities Initiative is a fulfillment of his pledge to make higher education accessible to all, irrespective of financial conditions. The implementation of this initiative will be overseen by the revamped Student Loan Trust Fund, which has been modernized and digitized to ensure transparency, efficiency, and sustainability.
Furthermore, President Mahama mentioned that the Scholarship Secretariat, which previously administered limited scholarships for persons with disabilities, will integrate its package into the new universal disability scholarship under the Student Loan Trust Fund. Complementing this effort, the Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu (MP), revealed that under President Mahama’s directive, GETFUND will make an annual contribution of GHS 50 million to support the Student Loan Trust Fund and the no-fees-stress policy.