Oliver Baker-Vormawor is a private legal practitioner and an activist
Legal practitioner and activist Oliver Barker‑Vormawor has called for the protection and strengthening of Ghana’s Free Senior High School (Free SHS) policy, arguing that corruption is the real threat to the country’s financial stability.
In a Facebook post on March 21, 2026, Barker-Vormawor revealed that his perspective on Free SHS was significantly shaped by a conversation with Justice Sai.
According to him, although he had always supported the policy, he previously harboured concerns about its long-term sustainability, particularly due to the absence of means testing for beneficiaries.
“I had great misgivings about its long-term viability,” he noted, adding that he once believed universal access could become an unsustainable burden on the state.
However, he said Justice Sai challenged that position by drawing attention to the scale of corruption in Ghana and questioning what tangible benefits the poor actually receive from the state.
“He admitted the policy was expensive but asked a simple question—when you consider the amount lost to corruption, what do the poor get?” Barker-Vormawor recounted.
He acknowledged that while Free SHS may not be perfectly targeted, it remains one of the few meaningful interventions for low-income households.
ORAL is bigger than Free SHS - Barker-Vormawor
“For many poor people, this may be the only value they get from a Republic that hardly prioritises them,” he stated.
Barker-Vormawor argued that instead of scrapping the policy, government should maintain it and refine it over time.
“Let it run. If it proves impractical, it can be reviewed and fine-tuned,” he said.
He stressed that Free SHS and free Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) are now entrenched policies that must be preserved.
Bake-Vormawor called for reforms such as the introduction of means testing to improve targeting, suggesting that if Ghana can develop systems to track resources like gold, it can also design mechanisms to better allocate educational support.
The activist also criticised what he described as a tendency among policymakers and analysts to oppose pro-poor initiatives on cost grounds, while ignoring the financial damage caused by corruption.
“When we steal from the state, we do not ask whether it is too expensive for a poor country,” he stated.
He further alleged that funds lost through corruption under the previous administration exceed the total cost of the Free SHS programme.
“Recover that money. Protect Free SHS,” he urged.
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MRA/EB
Meanwhile, watch as Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe scores Mahama govt high, only next to Nkrumah’s in the video below:
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