Factcheck: Former Education Minister did not cancel Book and Research Allowance for lecturers

This fact-check was originally done by Fact-Check Ghana and rewritten by GhanaWeb.

Claim

The ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) has claimed the Book and Research Allowance meant for lectures of various educational institutions was cancelled under the tenure of Prof. Naana Jane Opoku Agyemang, who was appointed as the Education Minister in 2013.

According to the Communications Director of the NPP, Yaw Bauben Asamoah who made the claim at a press briefing on July 6, 2020 in Accra;

“The Book and Research Allowance of our hard-working Lecturers were cancelled. Today we have reintroduced Book and Research Allowance and government has also put together a stand-alone bill to dedicate enough resources for the fund”

GhanaWeb has since substantiated the claim on the cancellation of the Book and Research Allowance and proven the claim as false.

Explanation

Under the National Democratic Congress' (NDC) tenure in 2013, government through its representatives announced plans to replace the Book and Research Allowance for lecturers and researchers.

The review of the system which was since opposed by the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) and the Polytechnic Teachers Association of Ghana (POTAG), was expected to provide research support to lecturers across the various educational institutions in the country.

The then former Finance Minister, on page 190 of the 2014 budget statement, read before Parliament, disclosed government’s intent to review the existing system of payment of the book and research allowance and replace it with a Research Facility.

Mr. Seth Terkper told Parliament: “In order to encourage more research work in tertiary institutions and to realize its full benefits, Government has decided to review the existing system of payment of the book and research allowance, and replace it with a Research Facility. Mr. Speaker, the Ministry of Education through the National Council for Tertiary Education has set aside GH¢15 million towards the establishment of a Research and Innovation Facility,”

Despite agitations and nationwide strikes by the two teacher unions; UTAG and POTAG to oppose government's decision, the unions said they believed the establishment of the national research fund was an idea they first proposed in 2006 under John Agyekum Kufuor regime of the NPP.

Verification

Despite the longstanding standoffs between the teacher unions and government, the opposition NDC in the last year of their four-year mandate in 2016, paid the Book and Research Allowance to lecturers for the 2015/2016 academic year.

A letter signed and available to GhanaWeb reveals the authorization of an amount equivalent GH¢37 million released by the Ministry of Finance on March 24, 2016 for the Controller and Accountant General’s Department to pay the allowance.

Following that, a validation for payment was provided by the then President of the UTAG, Dr. Harry Agbanu, indicating that various educational institutions had received their cheque from the National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE).

Conclusion

Per the letter available above, GhanaWeb can substantiate that the opposition NDC did not cancel the book and research allowance under the former Education Minister, Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang's tenure which merited its renewal as claimed by the ruling NPP.