The National Science and Maths Quiz (NSMQ), Ghana’s most celebrated academic competition, is facing A setback as the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) declares that schools will be unable to participate in this year’s edition due to a lack of funds.
In a letter dated October 3, 2025, CHASS informed the organisers, Primetime Limited, that schools could not take part in the upcoming contest unless the government released funds to facilitate their participation.
The Association said the balloting and other preparatory activities had stalled because schools lacked resources to mobilise their teams.
Reacting to the development, Member of Parliament for Old Tafo, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, expressed deep concern, describing the situation as a painful reminder of Ghana’s past failures in supporting education.
“Fifteen years ago, Ghana watched in shame as the NSMQ was cancelled in 2010 and 2011 because there was no money to support it. Today, in 2025, history is repeating itself,” he lamented.
“What should have remained a painful lesson has instead become a haunting cycle of neglect.”
Assafuah criticised government for what he called “misplaced priorities,” pointing to delayed disbursement of funds to schools since June.
He argued that while government had taken control of 60 percent of school food supplies, the remaining 40 percent, which schools are meant to purchase independently, had not been funded.
“This is not only undermining the ability of schools to manage their own resources, but it also reveals a deeper crisis in how government is starving education at every level,” he said.
The legislator drew a sharp comparison between the current administration and previous ones, citing 2022 as an example of how political will can prevent collapse.
“In 2022, although schools threatened to pull out, government came through and the competition was held successfully.
The contrast with 2025 is stark, this time, government has allowed the problem to drag on since June.”
He concluded that the situation reflects broader neglect within the public sector, adding that teachers, doctors, and nurses are all facing delayed payments. “Leadership is about priorities,” he said.
“What we are witnessing is not just failure, it is deliberate neglect.”
