Free SHS is the most significant social intervention since independence - Bawumia

Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia says the Free Senior High School (FSHS) programme is the most significant social intervention since Ghana attained Independence.

Dr Bawumia argued that the Free SHS Policy had touched and will continue to positively affect the lives of many Ghanaians including generations unborn.

Vice President Bawumia while touting the Akufo-Addo government’s credentials in Swedru in the Central Region on Saturday, said it would continue to pay greater attention to the education of the country's children.

Dr Bawumia, who was speaking at the 61st Speech and Prize Giving Day of the Swedru Senior High School, said the surest way to develop a nation was through educating the people.

The Akufo-Addo Government is determined to properly position Ghana to take advantage of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the run-up to the 2016 electioneering promised to make secondary education free when given the power.

Currently, about 1.2 million students are benefiting from the Free SHS Policy.

"We are investing and building capacity for the future of this country. The future of this nation depends largely on the kind of education that is provided for its citizenry," the Vice President said.

It is against this backdrop, he said, President Akufo-Addo focused attention on the provision of quality education for every Ghanaian child, irrespective of their social or economic status.

Every Ghanaian child is entitled to quality education and must be empowered to become economically independent, he said.

On education infrastructure access, Vice President Bawumia said initially the government faced a lot of educational infrastructure challenges and thus, came up with the novelty Double Track System.

“The fact is that without the double-track system, hundreds of thousands of students would not be able to access Free SHS.

"Those who are criticising the double-track system have not offered any alternative, therefore, abolishing it means abolishing Free SHS as we know it, "He added.

“This is why the government is investing in the construction of new infrastructure at senior high schools across the country and some schools are no longer on the double track

"The double-track system will, therefore, be over in just few years for all schools when the infrastructure is completed,” Dr Bawumia said.

Dr. Bawumia stated that the Free SHS Policy should never be put in the hands of those who do not believe in it, adding that, President Nana Akufo-Addo and the NPP's Free SHS is irreversible.