Free SHS: Government begins projects to avert congestions

Central Regional Minister Kwamena Duncan has revealed that government has begun building dormitories and classrooms across the country in Senior High Schools to avert the congestions due to the implementation of the free SHS.

According to him, there have been congestions in classrooms, dormitories as well as dining halls but the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government and the Ministry of Education were aware from the beginning that the policy could encounter such challenges and gave assurance that measures were instituted to find a lasting solution to the challenges.

“We knew these challenges could occur before the implementation so we’ve started projects to avert these challenges, they have started advertising it yesterday in various newspapers for the construction of new dormitories and classrooms to make the policy sustain’’, Kwamena Duncan noted.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Tuesday, September 12, launched the Free SHS at West African Senior Secondary School (WASS) in Accra.

Since the implementation of the programme some parents have raised concerns over scarce facilities in some institutions as some guardians alleging that students are studying in congested classrooms, because of the high intake of freshers during the 2017/2018 academic year.

Speaking to Otecfmghana.com, Mr Duncan appealed to the various District Assemblies and Traditional Leaders to take it as their social responsibilities and visit secondary schools in their respective districts to ascertain how the free SHS is being run and do their possible best to help the government to ensure the effectiveness of the programme.

He therefore charged his fellow Ministers to tour the various assemblies and monitor and coordinate their activities towards the progress of the Policy.

‘’It’s the ministers’ constitutional mandate to do that in order to promote the policies and programmes of the government’’, he said.