Okyenhene expresses happiness over Free SHS implementation

Okyenhene Osagyefuo Nana Amoatia Ofori Panin has said he is proud of the President Nana Akufo-Addo's Free SHS policy which was recently birthed hinting that it is a way of planning for a better future for children in the country.

He is of the view that the Akufo-Addo-led administration is continuing the legacy of former President John Agyekum Kufuor, an action which speaks well of the future of the country.

“I watched President Kufuor 16 years ago had a social intervention in saying that all pregnant women who go deliver babies in Ghana no matter where you live should do it free. So new babies were born 16 years ago as fate will have it, when that intervention came to place today, his protégé President Nana Akufo-Addo is now giving the 16-year-olds who were born during Kufuor’s tenure free education” he stated.

Speaking at Corporate Guardian Blackgold Order of Merit Awards Night in Accra on Thursday, September 14, 2017 where Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma was honoured with African Lifetime Achievement Award, the Okyenhene said education should never be compromised as it is the surest way of securing Ghana’s future.

“For us to be a great continent, we cannot forget about how we need to plan a better future for our children and the best investment is through education. Countries have made investments in Science and Technology in their education and we better be heading that way” he stressed.

The government is funding the cost of public Senior High Schools for all those who qualify for entry from the 2017/2018 academic year onward.

The policy is beginning with those who entered school this academic year, which means continuing students are not covered.

Speaking at the launch, Tuesday, the President said Ghana will be better off in the future with the full implementation saying the programme is a useful investment in the youth which will eventually drive Ghana’s economic transformation.

“We have a sacred duty to our children and other generations beyond in ensuring that irrespective of their circumstances, their right to education is preserved. That is why my government has decided to absorb all Senior High School fees that have been agreed between the Ghana Education Service Council and Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools. I want every Ghanaian child to attend Secondary school not just for what they learn in books, but for the life experiences they get,” said Akufo-Addo.