Scrap free SHS and replace it with a scholarship scheme for the needy – Think Tank

The Educate Africa Institute, an education think organisation, is arguing for the termination of the free senior school if it does not have the financial means to sustain its execution.

William Boadi, CEO of Educate Africa Institute, an Education Think Tank, believes the government should instead implement what he calls an effective scholarship scheme.

He stated that the initiative must target poor and needy children in order to ensure decent education in the country.

He believes that parents who can afford to pay their children’s school tuition should be required to do so.

During a news conference, he added that the finance minister stated in 2018 that the free SHS programme should not be implemented in its entirety, which means that those who can afford to pay their wards’ fees must be forced to do so.

He emphasised that the challenges surrounding the free Senior High School point to the government’s incapacity to carry out the policy as planned due to a lack of facilities, equipment, and materials for adequate teaching and learning.

William Boadi challenged the Ghana Education Service and the Ministry of Education with ensuring that issues relating to education are up to the task, adding that the government must abandon the Free SHS policy if its quality cannot be ensured.

"The government must abandon the free SHS programme in favour of a proper scholarship programme to help poor and needy students. Parents who can afford to pay should be encouraged to do so in order to reduce the government’s burden. The policy is sound, but it has not been well implemented. The government must review it. The implementation is subpar. It was rushed. We failed to invest in the necessary infrastructure before the policy took effect.”