The Akufo-Addo government says it has no intentions to abolish its flagship education initiative Free SHS despite the current worsening economic challenges.
Addressing Ghanaians on Thursday, the Minister responsible for Finance Ken Ofori-Attah said: “Let me say this, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has absolutely no intention to roll back on a major policy like Free SHS”.
He added: “We see education as the best enabler for sustainable economic growth and transformation and will do more to improve on it for it to serve more and better our children. All of these measures are aimed at ensuring that we achieve the 7.4% deficit target set in the 2022 budget”.
Mr. Ofori Attah’s comments come amid calls on the government to scrap some of its flagship policies in the wake of the country’s economic woes.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Association of Bankers, John Awuah, has said that the Free Senior High School programme in its current state, is wasteful and does not help the current dire economic situation in the country.
He stated that the government could review the Free SHS policy such that it only targets community day schools and the needy in society.
He said, “Why is the government paying my children’s school fees? I did not ask for it. Why is Free SHS free for me? Why is it free for people like me and a lot more people who have not asked for it?”
He noted that the poor implementation of the Free SHS policy was due to the lack of reliable data on Ghana’s demography, leading to blanket implementation of social interventions.
SOURCE: DAILY MAIL GH
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