Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu, has acknowledged the challenges stemming from the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy implemented by the erstwhile Akufo-Addo government.
Speaking during the inauguration of an eight-member committee on Education Reform, Haruna Iddrisu highlighted the country’s unpreparedness for the exponential increase in students accessing Free SHS, and the subsequent difficulty in absorbing them into tertiary institutions.
“The country a decade ago was busy implementing the Free SHS. The country in my view did not adequately prepare for the absorption of the exponential increase in numbers of persons accessing Free SHS. How well we absorb them into our tertiary institutions (now)? So there is a challenge.”
Haruna Iddrisu emphasized the need for open, relevant, and transparent discussions on making education accessible, equitable, and of high quality.
He stressed the committee on the importance of aligning education with national development planning initiatives.
“What the president wants is to benefit from the lack of open, relevant, transparent discussion about how we all can contribute to making education accessible, equitable with quality, and relevant to our national development planning initiative.
The Free Senior High School (Free SHS) policy in Ghana is a government program that provides free secondary education to all students. The policy was introduced in 2017 by the administration of President Nana Akufo-Addo.
The policy has increased access to education, but the downside is that tertiary institutions have not been prepared in accepting the mass number of students seeking admission.
