International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume VI, Issue VIII, August 2022 | ISSN 2454–6186
Assessment of Gaps in Higher Education Financing in Ghana
Richard Amoah
Finance Directorate, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Ghana
Abstract: Despite rising educational costs, governmental financing for higher education has decreased, especially in the developing world. This is attributable to a number of factors, including competition for public funds among various economic sectors, competition between higher education institutions and other sub-divisions of education, and the innovative rationale of modern public administrastion. These developments necessitate the pursuit of novel ways to financing higher education. This involves an examination of the financing of higher learning in various countries. To that end, the goal of this study was to evaluate current education finance in Ghana in order to point out the existing gaps in practice. The study used a comparative research methodology to compare and contrast developing worldwide best practices in higher education finance with present practices in Ghana. The findings of the study show that present means of higher learning finance are narrowly targeted. According to the findings, current financing mechanisms have problems that the funding model do not address. The paper concludes with policy and practical recommendations. Among other policy choices, governments and educational institutions should search for new potential funding sources for university education and align funding with country’s development needs and targets.
Keywords: Assessment, Higher Education, Financing, Gaps
I. INTRODUCTION
Generally, there is no gainsaying the fact that investing in a nation’s workforce is a critical component of assuring economic success and human development. People can become creative in tackling societal challenges by developing their human capital through education (Llyod & Payne, 2003). To ensure that education continues to play such a vital function in life, it is essential to guarantee that university education, specifically, is fiscally viable. However, government investment on higher education has fallen in several countries for a long time (Tilak, 2006). This downward trend in higher education spending can be ascribed to variables including structural adjustment initiatives that reflect the opinion that the government should only engage a limited function in funding university education. Total public higher education expenditure, the fraction of universities spending as a ratio to a nation’s economic output or overall government spending plan, and relative and absolute allotment to essential priorities like research and scholarship programs, among other things, all show a pattern of reduced public funding for higher education. This trend is more pronounced in poor countries and not in affluent economies such as the UK, New Zealand and Australia. Consequently