Minority reacts to IMF statement on 'poor implementation' of Free SHS

The Minority in Parliament says it has observed with keen interest the statement by the International Monetary Fund, IMF on the poor implementation of the Free SHS programme in Ghana.

In a statement, the Minority said it wants to put on record that since 2017 when the programme was implemented, it has cautioned government to hasten slowly so that a proper rollout of the Policy would be meaningful and beneficial to Ghanaians.

However, this was not heeded but rather described as propaganda. The Minority said it again in 2019, called on government to Review the Policy but the request was misconstrued to mean cancellation.

Areas that the Minority and former President John Dramani Mahama identified for review are exactly what the IMF has identified, the statement added.

These include targeting vulnerable students in Senior High Schools that needed support.

The statement mentioned infrastructure as a big challenge in Senior High Schools, saying the policy must be reviewed in order for beneficiaries to reap its full benefit.

The Caucus urges government to as a matter of urgency release money to the Heads of Senior High Schools to enable them to run their schools efficiently.

Also, the current calendar for the SHS must be reviewed because the first-year students who reported in February this year and went on holiday during Easter are still at home.

It is the Minority belief that government will heed to what the IMF has said and give the country’s future leaders the quality of education that they deserve.