With only two months for the implementation of the free Senior High School policy by this government, concerns are still being raised about the readiness of the country to carry out such policy.
The policy was one of the main campaign themes of the then opposition New Patriotic Party and its leader, now President, Nana Akufo-Addo, who said the decision is to ensure a good number of brilliant but poor students get a shot at education that will set them for life.
The policy is expected to be carried out in September but concerns about “quality” remains an argument those not completely opposed to it have pointed out. Former Defence Minister and a member of the NPP Dr Kwame Addo-Kufour said the government should hasten slowly with the implementation. Though he did not dismiss the importance of the policy, he said the status of the economy cannot support it.
Though he did not dismiss the importance of the policy, he said the status of the economy cannot support it.
But speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Dr Matthew Opoku-Prempeh, Minister of Education, said there is no better time of going ahead with the policy than the September deadline. He said the argument about a fragile economy does not hold because the economy has never been favourable to the economy since independence.
“Bad economy didn’t start today, “ he said. “ Ghana has not been the best of economies since independence.”
Dr Opoku-Prempeh said anyone who has a contrary view about the free Senior High School in relation to money can summit their concerns to the president for consideration.
“Free SHS is doable. We are not oblivious of obstacles. It is up to parents to invest in their children and motivate them to make it in life. We shall succeed,” he said.
On the issue of quality, the minister said competition among the students is enough to improve quality because the students will be forced to learn in order to stay on top.
He said the government will take care of the books and also build Forty Two model schools as part of the program.
primenewsghana.com/Ghana News