GETFund Administrator urges universities to be innovative in alternative revenue streams.
The Administrator of Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), Dr. Richard Ampofo Boadu, has called on public university authorities in the country to find innovative ways of sourcing alternative funding towards the management and the administration of their institutions. ‘’The time has come for the universities to step back on depending primarily on the traditional government sources for revenues’’. ‘’Rather be creative in adopting new measures that will rake in funds since we are not in normal times as government revenues are overstretched’’, the Administrator counselled.
Dr. Boadu was speaking at the second of the seven scheduled Policy Dialogue meetings organised by the Academy of Arts and Sciences (GAAS) under the sub theme; ‘’Financing Higher Education in Ghana: Implications for Equity and Sustainability’’, held at GAAS, Accra.
According to the Administrator, managers of our public universities must be guided by the current fiscal situation of the national economy as it affects all agencies that rely on central government funding via budgetary allocations. He said Parliament’s capping of the receivables to the Fund has conscripted GETFund available disbursements to its institutions and statutory commitments. Dr Boadu explained to the forum that, the universities therefore should not expect the usual funding support volumes coming from GETFund over the years in aide of infrastructure, faculty development and scholarships to students.
In the alternative in such difficult times, the Administrator encouraged the universities to take advantage of former students’ associations and individuals, endowment funds, industry and the business community and strike mutually beneficial partnerships towards fulfilling dire needs of the universities. ‘’There is plethora of philanthropic funds out there that universities can tap into to be able to fund critical research activities’’. he suggested.
Prof. Kofi Opoku Nti, President of GAAS, in his opening remarks invited the academia, the business community, the Civil Society Organisations, the media, alumnae, to participate fully in these series of policy dialogues lined up by GAAS to be able to generate robust ideas. These ideas, he believes will help shape policy and that will lead to reforms in the higher education funding in a very equitable sustainable manner.