The challenges confronting the effective implementation of the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) policy are largely rooted in the funding gap the programme has suffered since its inception.
According to the Public Relations Officer of the Conference of Heads of Private Second-Cycle Schools (CHOPS), Naphtali Kyei-Bafoour, the recent move by the Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, to review the policy — particularly issues relating to feeding, infrastructure, and the quality of teaching and learning — stems directly from inadequate funding.
Speaking on Adkye Mu Nsem, a morning show on Ahotor 92.3 FM hosted by Citizen Kofi Owusu in Accra, Mr. Kyei-Bafoour stressed the need for government to collaborate with private senior high schools that possess larger facilities in order to ease the pressure on public schools caused by increasing student enrolment and placement challenges.
He noted that such collaboration would help complement government efforts in addressing overcrowding and infrastructural deficits in public secondary schools.
Mr. Kyei-Bafoour further urged the government to re-examine the funding structure of the Free SHS policy, emphasizing that funding must receive special attention to address the chronic challenges confronting the programme, including inadequate infrastructure and human resource deficits, which directly affect the quality of teaching and learning in secondary schools.
He reiterated that it is time for government and stakeholders in the education sector to address the major bottlenecks affecting the system, particularly funding constraints, which he believes are critical to ensuring effective teaching and learning in secondary schools.
In another development, the Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has assured Ghanaians that the government has made adequate financial provisions to guarantee sufficient food supply for students in senior high schools across the country under the Free SHS programme.
According to the Minister, the government has undertaken a review of the implementation of the policy and identified key challenges affecting its smooth operation, particularly issues relating to food supply and student feeding.
He explained that measures have now been put in place to address those concerns and ensure uninterrupted academic activities in secondary schools.
Haruna Iddrisu gave the assurance during the commissioning of the National Teaching Council’s regional office complex in Tamale, where he reaffirmed the government’s commitment to sustaining and improving the flagship educational policy.
Speaking at the event, the Minister acknowledged that food shortages had in the past created serious difficulties for some schools under the Free SHS programme, leading to disruptions in academic work and forcing students to return home before the completion of the academic term.
However, he stressed that the government has now secured adequate resources to prevent such situations from recurring.
“Having examined the feeding of Free Senior High School students, we realised that there were many times schools had to be closed down or students had to be asked to go home because there was inadequate food. That is now a thing of the past,” he stated.
The Education Minister further disclosed that the government has strengthened financing arrangements for the programme through the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), which he said would ensure consistent support for the policy.
“There are adequate resources and adequate funding from GETFund to finance Free Senior High School,” he added.