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The National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) has appealed to President John Dramani Mahama, to as a matter of urgency, appoint members of the Board of Trustees for the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund).

According to NUGS, as stipulated in section 6 (2) of the Ghana Education Trust Act, 2000 (Act 581), this should be done in order to ensure that the Fund operated in a more efficient and effective manner.

Speaking at a news conference in Accra, Mr Michael Paa- Quecy Adu, National President of NUGS, explained that the absence of the 17-member Board of Trustees was contrary to the law.

He said the Board was responsible for the management of the Fund and for that matter has to pursue policies to achieve the objectives of the Fund.

“Collect monies lawfully due to the schemes for students in tertiary institutions, invest such monies of the Fund in safe securities as it considers financially beneficial to the Fund; and contribute monies from the Fund towards the operation of student loan schemes for tertiary students,” he said.

Quoting, part of Section 8(2) of the law establishing the GETFund, he said “the Board shall submit annually to parliament for approval a formula for the distribution of monies to various account”, this Mr Paa- Quecy Adu said includes accounts for tertiary education, second cycle education, basic education, investment and other related aspects of education.

“In the absence of a functioning Board of Trustees, one is tempted to ask how the functions of the GETFund Board were being executed and by whom?

“In the recent 2016 budget statement which captures proposed allocations to the GETFund, how did the GETFund managed to submit such a formula to parliament, without an existing Board of Trustees,” he asked.

Mr Paa- Quecy Adu again stated that over the past few years, the statutory allocations due the GETFund had either not been paid or had been unduly delayed, much to the discomfort of the management of the Fund;, whereas, it had led to several GETFund projects across the country being abandoned at various stages of completion, thereby affecting quality teaching and learning.

He said, according to Section 3 (a) of the GETFund law, the sources of money for the Fund include “an amount of money equivalent to two and one half percent out of the prevailing rate of the Value Added Tax (VAT) to be paid by the VAT Service, to the Fund or such percentage not being less than two and one half per cent of the VAT rate, as Parliament may determine”.