A former Rector of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) Professor Stephen Adei has dispelled the notion that the ‘Free SHS’ policy is partly to blame for Ghana’s current economic crisis.
According to him, no one should ever point to the Policy as the cause of Ghana’s problems.
“The Free SHS is not the cause of the economic crisis,” he asserted.
Speaking at TV3’s National Level Dialogue on the theme: ‘Free SHS In Perspective: Problems, Progress and Prospects’, Prof. Adei noted that he anticipated challenges with the policy and he made that clear to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
However, he said he advised him to ensure that the brains behind the Policy are retained when the challenges of the Policy emerge.
“The Free SHS is good. It is facing challenges. It must be treated and made better and ensure that no Ghanaian child is left behind.”
He added that, persons who critique the policy should not be seen as enemies of the regime that is implementing the policy.
“The Free SHS will be one of the greatest legacies of His Excellency the President. There is no rational Ghanaian who will want to scrap the policy of free SHS.
“Persons calling for a review of the free should not be seen as an enemy of the regime.”
The Free SHS programme was a major campaign promise by then-candidate Nana Akufo-Addo in 2016, which has subsequently become an essential part of the educational system.
About 1.6 million students have so far benefitted from the FSHS policy since it was started.
However, the policy has come under public scrutiny in recent times following reports of food shortages and drop in quality of teaching and learning.