Free SHS has come to stay – Mahama promises continuity

The former president John Dramani Mahama has admonished Ghanaians to disregard claims that he will scrap the Free SHS policy if elected into office. 

According to him, he has never been against the policy but against the implementation process which he claims has caused parents, students, and teachers great inconvenience.

“Free Senior High School education has come to stay. If anybody tells you that I, John Dramani Mahama, will abolish Free SHS when I come into power tell the person he is a bloody liar,” he said while paying a courtesy call on the Overlord of Dagbon, Ya-Na Abukari II.

The Free SHS which was introduced in September 2017, meant that the fees of every child in Ghana, who gained admission to a public Senior High School, will be absorbed by the government.

The policy enables all eligible secondary school students to attend public secondary schools free.

The government has said the policy would remove any cost barrier that prevents students from achieving their educational goals.

It’s implementation was, however, fraught with some challenges. The increased rate of admissions caused a shortage of infrastructure in some schools with students allegedly forced to sleep on mattresses on the floor.

The government subsequently introduced the double-track system to deal with the infrastructural challenges.

Despite these efforts by the government to address the challenges which were earlier encountered, the 2020 flagbearer of the opposition NDC, John Mahama says his government can better handle the policy and its implementation.

He further explained that the Akufo-Addo government would have had fewer challenges with the policy had they continued with the E-Block schools the NDC was constructing when in power, to accommodate students.