Free SHS Policy safe – Finance Minister assures

Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, the Minister of Finance has assured Ghanaians that government has no intention of rolling back the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy amid the economic challenges.

He indicated that President Akufo-Addo was keen and not ready to compromise on issues of improving social mobility, inclusiveness and broadening the horizon of Ghanaians.

The FSHS policy, however, he said, like all other flagship policies would undergo a review to improve efficiencies as the government hopes to improve its fiscal position.

“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.

“When you see 400,000 new people getting that opportunity, nobody should belittle or rubbish that,” he said at a press briefing to announce a series of spending cut measures.

There was reported tension among Ghanaians, especially parents when the government announced that 16 major policies, including the Free SHS policy, were up for review due to economic challenges that had warranted the implementation of drastic fiscal measures.

Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the Minister of Information, explained that the government was seeking to relook at expenditure lines of the major policies for budget cuts and not necessarily cancel any major policies under review.

The Free SHS policy was first introduced in 2017 to take out the element of cost as a barrier to education.

The programme is also anchored on the expansion of infrastructure to accommodate expected increase in enrolment, improvement in quality and equity and development of employable skills.

Ghanaian children who perform creditably and get placed within public SHS enjoy a three-year scholarship for secondary education.

The scholarship includes free tuition, admission fee, textbooks, and examination fees, among others.