Free SHS: Agree cost-sharing arrangement with parents – IEA

The institute of Economic Affairs has urged government to re-examine some government policies such as the Free SHS to determine how cost could be reduced on government expenditure.

According to the Director for Research for the institute, Dr. John K. Kwakye government could use means testing scheme to get financially capable parents to pay for their wards instead of covering the fees of every wards in the Senior High School.

Addressing the press, Dr. John K. Kwakye suggested that government could share cost with wards’ parents to reduce the burden on government.

“Government should agree on cost sharing arrangement with parents, whereby government pays for say academic fees and charges, books and boarding, while parents pay for feeding and uniforms, or other suitable cost sharing agreements.”

Dr. John K. Kwakye added that government could limit support to families with more than three students.

He said, “…it will be worthwhile to consider options to reduce the cost on the budget. First a kind of means testing scheme could be introduced to make financially capable parents pay for their wards. This is an idea that a large cross section of Ghanaians seems to support and which must be seriously considered by government the way to operationalize such a system can be worked out”.

“Consideration could be given to the idea of government limiting its support to say 3 students per family. Some people will say that this will be an indirect family plaining scheme but the fact is that it is costly to have an open ended system whereby government commits to pay for all the children of every family that will open the flood gate to produce as many children as they like expecting that government will take care of all of them.”