Free Tertiary Education for Persons with Disabilities: An Act of Justice and Equality

President John Dramani Mahama's administration has launched the Free Tertiary Education for Persons with Disabilities policy, aiming to provide equal access to higher education for individuals with disabilities. The policy is a strategic investment in Ghana's most valuable resource, its people, and a reminder that a nation's soul is measured by how it treats its most vulnerable citizens. With over two million Ghanaians living with disabilities, this initiative seeks to promote inclusion and equality by providing education and livelihood opportunities.

Key Takeaways:

• The Free Tertiary Education for Persons with Disabilities policy is a moral responsibility rather than an act of charity, as it aims to provide equal access to higher education for individuals with disabilities.
• The policy is led by the revamped Student Loan Trust Fund, which has been modernised and digitised to ensure transparency, efficiency, and sustainability.
• The Scholarship Secretariat will integrate the limited scholarship for persons with disabilities into the new universal disability scholarship under the Student Loan Trust Fund.
• The Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, announced that GETFUND will make an annual contribution of GHS 50 million in support of the Student Loan Trust Fund and the no-fees-stress policy.
• According to the 2021 Population and Housing Census, there are over two million Ghanaians living with disabilities, with real human stories of perseverance, talent, and dreams waiting to be fulfilled.
• President Mahama rallied all stakeholders, including corporate Ghana, to make a conscious effort to promote inclusion across the board.
• The Inclusive Education Policy, introduced in 2015, opened mainstream schools to learners with disabilities and began transforming the country's educational culture.

Statistics:

• Over two million Ghanaians live with disabilities, according to the 2021 Population and Housing Census.
• The GETFUND annual contribution to the Student Loan Trust Fund and the no-fees-stress policy is GHS 50 million.
• The Free Tertiary Education for Persons with Disabilities policy is a strategic investment in Ghana's most valuable resource, its people.
• The revamped Student Loan Trust Fund has been modernised and digitised to ensure transparency, efficiency, and sustainability.

Sources:

• M2 PressWIRE: "Free Tertiary Education for Persons with Disability (PwDs)– an act of justice and equality” – President Mahama", dated October 27, 2025