President John Dramani Mahama has launched the Free Tertiary Education for Persons with Disabilities initiative with fees to be fully covered by the state for accredited public tertiary institutions.
The program themed Disability, Not Inability is advancing inclusive access to higher education under the RESET agenda.
Speaking at the launch President Mahama described the occasion as a new and defining moment in Ghana’s journey towards inclusion and equality.
“Today, we gather to mark a new and defining moment in Ghana’s journey towards inclusion and equality. The launch of the Free Tertiary Education for Persons with Disabilities initiative, which is under the theme Disability, Not Inability, advancing inclusive access to higher education under the RESET agenda,” he said.
The President stated that the initiative is not merely a policy launch but an activation of the national conscience and sense of equity and justice.
“This initiative is not merely a policy launch. It is an activation of our national conscience and our sense of equity and justice. It is a reminder that the soul of any nation is measured by how it treats its most vulnerable citizens,” he stated.
President Mahama noted that according to the 2021 Population and Housing Census there are more than 2 million Ghanaians living with disability.
“According to the 2021 Population and Housing Census, there are more than 2 million Ghanaians living with disability. But behind this statistic, behind this figure, are real human stories. Stories of perseverance, of talent waiting to be nurtured, and of dreams that deserve to be fulfilled,” he said.
He added that too many persons with disability still face barriers of poverty, stigma and lack of access to education and livelihood opportunity.
“Too many still face barriers of poverty, of stigma, of lack of access to education, and livelihood opportunity. These are not just individual challenges. They represent a national loss. When we exclude, we waste talent. But when we include and empower, we multiply national progress,” he stated.
The President explained that under the program persons with disability who gain admission into accredited public tertiary institutions will have their fees fully covered by the state.
“Under this program, persons with disability who gain admission into accredited public tertiary institutions will have their fees fully covered by the state,” he said.
He noted that the implementation of the initiative will be led by the revamped Student Loan Trust Fund which is now modernized and digitized.
“The implementation of this initiative will be led by the revamped Student Loan Trust Fund, which is now modernized and digitized to ensure transparency, efficiency, and sustainability,” he stated.
President Mahama emphasized that the initiative is not an act of charity but an act of justice and equality.
“Let me emphasize, this initiative is not an act of charity. It is an act of justice and equality. It is a strategic investment in Ghana’s most valuable resource, that is its people. Each student supported under this policy becomes an asset to our nation. A potential engineer, a teacher, an entrepreneur, a farmer or innovator,” he said.
The President recalled Ghana’s history of supporting persons with disability noting that in 2006 Parliament passed Act 715, the Persons with Disability Act.
“In 2006, under the administration of President Kufuor, Parliament passed Act 715, the Persons with Disability Act. In 2012, under my leadership, Ghana ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability, aligning the country’s laws with global standards of equality and dignity,” he stated.
He added that in 2015 government introduced the Inclusive Education Policy which opened mainstream schools to learners with disability.
“In 2015, we introduced the Inclusive Education Policy, which opened mainstream schools to learners with disability, and began the process of transforming our educational culture. Today, we are advancing that vision one step further,” he said.
President Mahama announced that the Free Tertiary Education for Persons with Disabilities initiative fulfills a pledge he made to the people of Ghana to make higher education accessible to all regardless of financial condition or circumstances.
He stated that the initiative envisions a Ghana where a visually impaired student becomes a software engineer, a young woman in a wheelchair earns her law degree and a child with hearing impairments grows up to be a teacher or leader.
“This is the inclusive Ghana we dream of, a nation where opportunity, not disability, defines our destiny,” he said.
The President called on the private sector, civil society, development partners, universities and media to join hands in the mission.
“Let us transform our national attitudes from commiseration to partnership, from exclusion to empowerment, and from sympathy to solidarity. Together, we must build a culture that is inclusive and celebrates differences and values, the contribution of every single one of our citizens,” he stated.