The free SHS policy has for some time with push from the Ghana Education Service (GES) reconvened the backing of parents and other stakeholders to its policy amidst continual challenges and accusing remarks.
Atinka TV’s morning show Ghana Nie saw
on 1st September 2021 dedicated its key discussion on the Free SHS
challenges and the way forward. The Host EKOURBA GYASI SIMPREMU
made in
his opening statement that “the
Ghana Education Service Head allegedly acclaimed to the free Senior High School
been full proof but substantially we all are bearing witness to its increasing
yet to solved challenges”
A sudden rise in these challenges is putting
the GES on hand to try and find a means to solve them with the Council of Heads of Assisted Secondary
Schools (CHASS) been charged to work hard address it.The Deputy Director-General in charge of Quality and Access at Ghana
Education Service (GES), Dr Kwabena Bempah Tandoh further revealed in a
statement that, “there have been challenges in terms of the approval of funds
for running the schools. But as I speak to you now, Conference of Heads of
Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) has received all monies for Form 2s and 3s.”
Despite criticism and calls for the double track aspect of the policy to be
scrapped, the Deputy Director of the GES urged Ghanaians to embrace the
programme as thousands of young people are benefiting from it.
Further to the
discussion by the panel on the morning show it came to light Locals who previously had a means to work and livelihood from
production to finish and schools that could have assessed resources and certain
terms have had a diverse effect of personal gains and as a result of the
government centralizing the system and thus having a toll on the Free SHS.
Headmasters and school heads were abusing the system while others were
sabotaging the system for personal gains and interest. Whereas these practices
has placed not only pressure on parents to cater or find alternatives to help
wards survive and be in school but also on government trying to defend the
acclaimed full proof system. It is an encouraged attentiveness on the part of
school authorities and stakeholders in monitoring the quality of supplies and
bring to book culprits who seek to sabotage or extract extra income from the
system.
It
was in light of this that the challenge of inadequate text and teaching
materials became a focal discussion point on the show. It was allegedly
believed that most schools didn’t have enough reading and writing materials to
make the smooth transition of both learning and the free SHS effective.
The
Government of Ghana introduced subsidies at the Senior High School t to reduce
the burden on parents and guardians of wards in such schools and help move
Ghana Education to the era but until these challenges are addressed we would
keep moving around the same point the; panel stressed.
EKOURBA GYASI SIMPREMU in his last statement
made emphatically clear that” if there are no funds or means to sustain
the FREE SHS it should be focused on the first year of students during which
period the GES can assess students whose parents can afford to pay fees for 2
and 3 years of the SHS”
BY JONATHAN ARDAYFIO
#teamaob
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