Free SHS has benefited 5.7 million students and promoted gender parity – Bawumia

The 2024 flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has highlighted the achievements of the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy, introduced by the Akufo-Addo administration in the 2017/2018 academic year.

Addressing a stakeholder engagement in the Ledzokuku constituency in the Greater Accra Region, Dr. Bawumia stated that despite facing initial challenges, the policy has successfully bridged the academic gap between the rich and poor since its inception.

“Over the past eight years, 5.7 million students have benefited from the policy. Total enrollment, which was 800,000 since independence (1957–2016), increased to 1.4 million. This demonstrates that many students who couldn’t attend school due to financial constraints are now able to do so,” he said.

Promoting Gender Parity

Dr. Bawumia also noted that “it has become very difficult to acquire the services of housemaids because most parents can now afford to send their children to school.”

He highlighted one significant achievement of the policy: gender parity. “The ratio of boys to girls in SHS has improved from 100 boys to 68 girls in 2016 to 100 boys to 106 girls in 2023,” he said.

Dr. Bawumia refuted claims that the free SHS policy has decreased the quality of education in Ghana. “The pass rate in the core six subjects during the 2016 WASSCE exams was 45%. By 2023, the pass rate in these subjects had increased to 64%, showing a significant improvement in performance. Additionally, the top three students in WAEC examinations in West Africa are all from Ghana, indicating that our standards have risen. Imagine what might have happened if the free SHS policy had not been introduced,” he said.

He added that the successes of the free SHS policy are further supported by the government’s decision to distribute laptops to all SHS students, making Ghana the first country in Africa to do so.

Free TVET

Dr. Bawumia also praised the addition of free Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) as another achievement of the NPP. He emphasized the importance of encouraging technical and vocational education to improve Ghana’s future.

“We have invested more in education than any other government in Ghana’s history. We have spent 6 billion cedis on technical and vocational education to acquire major equipment for 10 digital colleges and 34 vocational institutes,” he said.

He concluded by urging Ghanaians to protect this life-changing policy in the December 2024 elections, contrasting it with what he described as the alternatives of ‘nkoko nkete’ and a ‘24-hour disco,’ and criticized the former President for lacking the expertise to safeguard beneficial policies like free SHS.