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President Akufo-Addo has rejected calls for a revision of the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) policy, particularly from critics who argue that parents who can afford it should pay fees. Speaking at the 2024/2025 Annual General Conference of the Ghana Bar Association in Kumasi on Monday, September 9, he defended the policy, emphasizing its positive impact on education and access for underprivileged students.
Responding to calls for wealthier families to pay school fees, the President disagreed, suggesting that those parents could instead opt for private institutions if they wished. “Let me express my difference with the President of the Bar on one critical issue. People who can afford to pay fees for the education of their wards should send them to fee-paying private schools,” he stated.
President Akufo-Addo also highlighted how the Free SHS policy has dramatically increased enrollment in secondary schools, benefiting millions of students. “Public schools, that is, schools funded by the taxpayer, should be free to all who would otherwise be unable to pay for their education. That is why the number of people who have access to second-cycle education has doubled since the introduction of the Free Senior High School policy, and over 5.7 million persons have benefited from the policy since its inception.”
The President’s comments were a direct response to Yaw Acheampong Boafo, President of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), who had earlier called for a review of the policy. During his speech at the same event, Mr. Boafo suggested that students from affluent families, who had benefited from expensive basic education, should be required to pay SHS fees to ensure the policy’s sustainability.
“The Free SHS program must be means-tested using data from the National Identification Authority so that affluent parents do not exploit the system,” Boafo proposed. He added that this adjustment would free up more resources to support students from less privileged backgrounds, allowing for a more equitable distribution of the program’s benefits.
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