The Inter-Ministerial Coordinating Committee on Decentralisation (IMCC) and the Ministry of Education (MoE) have started preparing a new legislative bill aimed at devolving parts of the education sector to local government assemblies.
The initiative was launched on February 4, 2026, during a high-level meeting at the IMCC Secretariat in Accra. Officials from the IMCC, the MoE, the IMCC’s Legislative Review Committee, and technical experts came together to agree on the Terms of Reference and define the scope of work for the committee tasked with drafting the bill.
The main goal of the proposed legislation is to align the education sector with Ghana’s broader decentralisation policy, giving Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) greater authority to manage key education functions. This means clarifying roles, reducing overlaps between institutions, and empowering local governments to take on responsibilities such as teacher recruitment and administration of schools once reserved for central authorities.
Dr. Gameli Kewuribe Hoedoafia, Executive Secretary of the IMCC, said the joint working committee was formed after consultations with the Minister of Education to accelerate the devolution process. He noted that the committee will work toward completing the review by June 2026 before submission to Cabinet and then Parliament.
The move reflects continued efforts to implement long-standing plans to devolve education management — a process that was first explored over a decade ago but stalled due to legislative and administrative challenges.
Officials emphasised the importance of examining each level of pre-tertiary education, including basic, secondary and technical education, to determine what can effectively be devolved to local authorities. This includes scrutinising teacher deployment, curriculum oversight, and school establishment procedures
