Special schools in Ghana have raised the alarm over what they describe as longstanding neglect by government authorities, calling for immediate action to address delayed grants, unpaid staff arrears, and deteriorating infrastructure that threaten the quality of education for learners with special needs.
At the 42nd Annual Workshop of the Conference of Heads of Special Schools (COHESS), held in Accra, the group’s Chairperson, Madam Roseline Frepomaa Adjepong, delivered a stark message: without urgent intervention, the country risks failing some of its most vulnerable children.
She revealed that assistive and non-teaching staff—who play vital roles in the care and development of students with disabilities—have not been paid since April 2024, describing the delay as “disheartening and demoralising.”
“These are the very people who ensure students are dressed, fed, cared for and supported emotionally,” she said. “Yet their welfare continues to be overlooked.”
COHESS also decried the chronic underfunding of special schools, pointing to delays in feeding and administrative grants, abandoned infrastructure, and a glaring absence of vehicles to support logistics and management. Madam Adjepong noted that no new administrative vehicles have been allocated to special schools since 2006, while other schools routinely benefit from government fleet distributions.
“We are always left out. Tertiary institutions and senior high schools are considered, but we are forgotten. We are simply asking for fairness,” she stressed.
The conference, held under the theme “Inclusive Education in Ghana: The Role of Special Schools,” served as a platform for educators and stakeholders to call out disparities in Ghana’s educational system, where the promise of inclusion is often undermined by poor resource allocation.
Mrs. Helena Mensah, Director of the Special Education Division of the Ghana Education Service, echoed the need for stronger collaboration between special and mainstream schools to promote equity. She urged stakeholders to rethink how access and participation are defined within the education system.
“We must move beyond tokenism and truly commit to inclusive education that empowers every child, regardless of ability,” she said.
The summit concluded with a resounding call on the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service to treat the needs of special schools not as an afterthought, but as a priority in the national education agenda.
