The Africa Education Watch (Eduwatch) has raised concerns that Ghana’s current District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) allocation formula is contributing to persistent inequalities in access to basic education, particularly at the Junior High School (JHS) level.
The policy research organisation is calling for urgent reforms to ensure that districts with the greatest educational infrastructure deficits receive a larger share of resources to bridge existing gaps and improve access to quality education.
According to Eduwatch, although government has earmarked 20 per cent of the DACF for basic education infrastructure, the existing distribution formula does not adequately consider levels of deprivation and infrastructure needs across districts.
Mr. Kofi Asare, Executive Director of Eduwatch, said the current approach tends to favour larger and more economically active districts while leaving deprived areas with significant infrastructure challenges underfunded.
He made the remarks while discussing findings from a report on the implementation of Ghana’s 2025 education policies, which was produced by Eduwatch with support from Oxfam.
The report commended government for progress in areas such as the timely release of capitation grants and the continued implementation of the Free Senior High School programme.
However, it highlighted ongoing disparities in education financing, school infrastructure and the provision of educational resources.
Mr. Asare explained that the DACF allocation formula currently relies on indicators such as population size, service pressure and internally generated revenue capacity.
While these factors are important, he argued that they fail to adequately reflect the extent of educational deprivation in some districts.
As a result, districts facing severe shortages of classrooms and Junior High Schools often receive less support than districts with comparatively better educational facilities.
He cited Nabdam as an example of a district with significant infrastructure deficits that receives lower allocations than relatively better-endowed districts such as Adentan.
According to Eduwatch, the consequences of these disparities are reflected in school transition rates across the country.
Data cited in the report indicate that approximately 18 per cent of pupils in deprived districts fail to transition from Primary Six to JHS One, compared to eight per cent in more developed areas.
Mr. Asare noted that the absence of Junior High Schools in many communities remains a major barrier to educational progression.
In regions such as Greater Accra, Ashanti and Eastern, the ratio of primary schools to Junior High Schools stands at 1:0.98, 1:0.89 and 1:0.85 respectively, suggesting that most primary schools have access to nearby JHS facilities.
However, the situation is markedly different in some northern regions.
The Northern Region records a ratio of 1:0.45, while Savannah, North East and Upper East Regions have ratios of 1:0.47, 1:0.53 and 1:0.71 respectively.
These figures indicate that a substantial number of primary schools in those areas do not have corresponding Junior High Schools, forcing many pupils to travel long distances to continue their education.
Mr. Asare said the challenge disproportionately affects children from low-income households and girls, increasing the likelihood of school dropout and undermining efforts to achieve universal basic education.
To address the problem, Eduwatch is advocating the introduction of a needs-based education infrastructure allocation formula within the DACF framework.
The organisation recommends that future allocations take into account infrastructure deficits, school transition rates and district-level deprivation indicators.
It also proposed the establishment of a dedicated rural infrastructure equalisation grant to support deprived districts with critical educational infrastructure needs.
Eduwatch believes that aligning education financing with actual needs would help reduce regional disparities, improve school access and strengthen efforts to ensure that every child, regardless of location, has the opportunity to complete basic education.
The organisation maintains that equitable distribution of education resources remains essential to achieving inclusive national development and improving learning outcomes across the country.
