Haruna Iddrisu, Minister of Education has stated the 5.1 million Free SHS beneficiaries quoted by the former Akufo-Addo government is misleading.
According to Haruna Iddrisu, his research suggests that around 3.9 million students have benefited from the programme.
The Education minister figure, however, contrasts with public records, including parliamentary reports, which place the number as high as 5.1 million.
He added that he will need validation of the Free SHS beneficiary data.
During his first official visit to the Ministry on Wednesday, January 22, 2025, Haruna Iddrisu stated, “One of the very first major issues the country must interrogate is the statistical validity of how many Ghanaians have benefited from Free Senior High School”
“I am not saying mine is right, but 5.1 million was misleading because I have looked at the numbers from 2017 to 2023, and I am convinced that the number of students who have benefited from the Free SHS policy stands at not more than 3.9 million. But I need a validation of that data to begin with”, he detailed.
Meanwhile, the previous government in the past has claimed that 5.7 million students had benefitted from Free SHS since 2017.
Former President Akufo Addo at the launch of the Smart Schools project on March 25 also claimed 5.1 million children have benefitted from the Free SHS programme since it was instituted in September 2017.
The Ministry of Finance has dismissed these claims, according to them the total beneficiaries of the Free SHS policy from 2017 to 2024 are 3,135,754 and not nearly 6 million students as claimed by Asaase Radio and NPP bigwigs.
