Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu
The Ministry of Education has rejected reports of the government’s plan to immediately cancel the allowance given to teacher trainees in the country, popularly called “allawa.”
The reports were based on a statement made by the Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, at a meeting with the Executives of the Principals of Colleges of Education (PRINCOF).
In a statement issued on February 4, 2025, the ministry said that the reports on the minister’s statement were inaccurate.
It added that the government would keep the allowances in place until a definitive deal is achieved with all parties involved, even though an enhanced student loan programme might be explored in the future.
But what did Haruna Iddrisu say?
The education minister, while touching on the matter of the allowance given to nursing and teacher trainees indicated that he could not comprehend why the government would be feeding tertiary education students.
He indicated that rather than feeding the students, the government is considering giving them loans so that they would be able to cater for their needs.
He added that the government, in the meantime, would continue to give students the “allawa” as it works to phase it out.
Below are the exact words of the minister:
“But more importantly, you raise the issue of student allowances. It will continue subsequent to the Education Forum, for which I have the pleasure to invite you to come. We’ll take some major decisions based on the recommendations.
But off-head, there is no way you should be feeding a student at the tertiary level. So we have to work out a transition from the allowance into an enhanced student loan for them to feed themselves.
But in the interim, they will still get the allowances in just the next very few months going forward, subject to the recommendations of the committee.
But I cannot conceive of a student in a higher education institution being fed. We can narrow feeding them to basic and free senior high school but not at a tertiary level. So, they will still get enhanced student loans to be able to feed themselves, but in the interim, we’ll continue with the feeding and then phase out the allowance process, subject to the recommendations of the Education Forum. So we would do that.”
The Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has announced plans to transition teacher trainee allowances into an enhanced student loan scheme to allow students to cater for their own feeding and personal expenses.#GraphicOnline pic.twitter.com/okblRkx1Ff
— DailyGraphic GraphicOnline (@Graphicgh) February 4, 2025
BAI/EK
Meanwhile, watch as Kwami Sefa Kayi begs NDC to return to Kokrokoo show
You can also watch videos from the Minority after chaos erupted during Mintah Akandoh’s vetting
