29 private schools benefit from Free SHS

Twenty-nine private Senior High Schools (SHSs) have benefited from the Free SHS programme since its inception, Jose Bertha Gyan-Kwakye, Public Relations Officer of the Free SHS Secretariat, has said.

According to her, there is an existing policy in place to help private schools under the programme.

The heads of some private schools, she said, who are aware of this policy, have liaised with the Ghana Education Service and are benefiting from it.

The Conference of Heads of Private Second Cycle-Schools (CHOPSS) has said the introduction of the Free SHS is crippling their businesses.

The Public Relations Officer of CHOPSS, Naphtali Kyei Baffour in an earlier interview with Accra-based Citi FM, said: "Private schools sustain their existence from the mop-up they get from candidates [who obtain] aggregate 32. Now it has been extended to 42.”

"So, our question is with the introduction of this Free SHS, we are yet to hear from the government if they are going back to the old system where the cut off [point] was 32 or they will still operate with the existing one like aggregate 40 to 42.

"If it so happens like that, then those who did not even qualify for admission into public institutions that we relied on, now because it is free, and they'll still qualify, it means that come two years, three years, four years, there will not be private SHS," he added.

But speaking on Ghana Yensom on Accra 100.5FM hosted by Kwabena Prah Jnr (The Don) on Tuesday, 13 November, Ms Gyan-Kwakye said: “There is an arrangement to send excess students to the private schools and the heads of the private schools who are aware have met the GES to also benefit from it.”

“So far, about 29 private SHS have benefited from the programme and the others who are interested can access this arrangement”, she added.