Free SHS likely to fail – IMANI

Government’s plan to implement a Free Senior High School policy from September is likely to face some challenges due to the country’s wobbling financial status, the Head of Economics at IMANI, Patrick Stephenson has warned.

President Akufo-Addo over the weekend disclosed that his government’s plan to fully implement its much touted campaign promise is on course.

“By free SHS, we mean that, in addition to tuition which is already free, there will be no admission fees, no library fees, no science centre fees, no computer lab fees, no examination fees, no utility fees; there will be free textbooks, free boarding and free meals, and day students will get a meal at school for free,” the President stated over the weekend.

Speaking in the aftermath of the president’s declaration, Mr. Stephenson challenged the government to disclose the source of funding for the implementation of the programme.

He said without a comprehensive funding mechanism, the programme is likely to fail.

“The way we had talked about the whole free senior higher education and how it’s going to be implemented, the idea itself may not be a problem, but how we should treat it within the structure of the educational system as we speak today so that the targeted persons get to benefit,” he told Accra-based Citi FM.

“I think that’s been the problem to the extent that we have not seen sufficient clarity from the current government, is making it very difficult to appreciate what the intended objectives are.”