Minority in Parliament says the current state of the Free Senior High School (SHS) programme which was launched yesterday by the government was an extended scholarship for first year students, contrary to what Ghanaians were promised during the 2016 general poll.
The minority lawmakers said the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) had promised Ghanaians a free SHS on a “universal basis” but that was not what was happening.
Addressing the media on a variety of issues in Accra, Minority Leader, Mr. Haruna Iddrisu, pointed out that page 107 of the NPP’s 2016 Manifesto states: “Free SHS – The NPP will redefine basic education to include Senior High School (SHS), covering vocational, agricultural and technical schools, and make it available for free on a universal basis to all Ghanaians.”
But in a sharp contrast, the minority said that beneficiaries of the programme were Junior High School (JHS) graduates who have had admissions into public SHSs.
The minority caucus were also unhappy that a total of 565,404 continuing students across the country would not benefit from the programme as it was trumpeted loudly by the NPP in the 2016 electioneering campaign.
“The irony is that this is the group then candidate Akufo-Addo campaigned to and promised Free SHS,” he said.
At least over 400,000 students are expected to benefit from the programme, which was launched yesterday.
The programme, which is an outcome of a campaign promise, will make admission, examination, library and science laboratory fees free for junior high school (JHS) graduates who qualify for SHS.
But the NDC MPs want the government to apologise to Ghanaians for deceit.
“By its inability to roll out Free SHS to cover those in second and third years – the NPP has only successfully vindicated those who said Akufo-Addo’s Free SHS promise was a hoax,” Mr. Iddrisu said.
He maintained that what Ghanaians have been presented with is “simply another version of Progressively Free SHS.”
The opposition lawmakers said some parents may be compelled to seek “fee-paying” schools for their children if the policy was not considered.
“The continuous claim by President Akufo-Addo and his acolytes that they have fulfilled their universal free SHS for all promise is simply hypocritical,” Mr. Iddrisu added.
To buttress their claims, the minority explained that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government only budgeted for 85 per cent of the Basic Education Certificate Education graduates in for its free secondary education policy.
“Contrary to its public posture that the government does not intend to leave any child behind, the projection of the Akufo-Addo cabinet is that only 85% of SHS students will accept their placements and turn up for school,” the minority hinted.
According to the minority, “the NPP government has made provision in its budget for only 362,781 SHS students entering the first year.”
Thus, “per the current placement figures, government has made no arrangements for 62,711 students.”
Between 2013 and 2016, 27% of qualified SHS students missed out on secondary education. An average of 107,640 BECE graduates placed in public Secondary and Technical Schools between 2013 and 2016 were unable to enroll in school.
Data available shows that 1,573,761 BECE graduates have been placed over the past four years with 430,563 dropping out.
The inability of these students to continue their education is believed to be largely due to financial constraints.
…It is figures like these that have informed the urgency with which the government has pursued its Free SHS policy to address inequality and ensure equal opportunities for all students through the removal of cost barriers.’
But the minority remains skeptical of the policy, adding that “the NPP Government disingenuously refused to adjust this year’s GES approved fees as has been the tradition every year.”
“This tradition in fixing fees annually factors inflation and ensures that quality is not compromised. The NPP Government surreptitiously used last academic year’s GES approved fees of 1,022.20 for boarders and GHS 560 for day students in order that it can beat down the actual cost of Free SHS. A trend analysis we have conducted over the last five years reveals that this year’s approved fees should not have been less than GHS 1,320 for boarders and GHS 715 for day students,” Mr. Iddrisu said.
These points, coupled with the NPP government’s inability to identify a clear and reliable funding source for their Free SHS, “clearly undermines its sustainability and the survival of quality SHS education in Ghana,” he added.
Today in Parliament
…with Franklin Asare-Donkoh
