The Right Reverend Kofi Asare-Bediako, the out-going Bishop, Sunyani Diocese of the Methodist Church- Ghana, has called for the institution of a voluntary education fund to support the financing of the free Senior High School (SHS) programme.

He called on the President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to give a careful consideration for the establishment of such a fund the citizenry and private corporate organizations to make voluntary cash donations into it to augment government’s efforts in the education sector.

Rt. Rev. Asare-Bediako made the suggestion in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Sunyani.

He commended President Akufo-Addo for the bold education initiative and appealed to Ghanaians to assist in diverse ways to address the challenges in the implementation of the policy for the success of it.

Rt. Rev. Asare-Bediako said for the sustainability of the Free SHS Programme, there should be a National Voluntary Education Fund (NaVEF) like the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), through the contributions of individuals, business concerns, and charitable organizations to assist the government in financing it.

He said annually such a fund could take about one/third of the total budget for that programme to ease the financial burden on the government and the pressure on the national purse. 

Rt. Rev. Asare-Bediako said that the contributions could be coming from not only the corporate bodies and ordinary individual citizens but diverse sources like the churches, traditional councils, politicians, Ghanaians associations abroad and even international donor agencies and non-governmental organizations with interest in education.

He said different forms of incentives and certificates of recognition by the government could be given to the corporate bodies, associations, and individuals that would be making meaningful contributions to the fund.