A Deputy Minister of Finance, Mrs Abena Osei-Asare has allayed the fears of parents who are afraid their wards may not be able to have Senior High School education should the government’s flagship programme, Free Senior High School (Free SHS), be cancelled.
She has emphatically stated that the programme will never be cancelled.
Speaking during a community engagement in selected areas in her Constituency, Mrs Osei-Asare, also the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Atiwa East, noted that: “The Free SHS Policy is helping the Ghanaian vulnerable, poor and needy in society.
“President Nana Addo will not cancel it but rather do everything possible to sustain the policy, because of the great impact it is making in the lives of Ghanaian youth,” she said.
Free SHS is the government’s flagship programme in education, introduced with the purpose of providing free, quality and accessible education to students at the second cycle level.
Despite its immense contribution towards reducing the number of students who otherwise would drop out of school, there have been various concerns raised over the programme.
There have been calls for the government to also scrap it due to various challenges bedeviling it, such as complaints over poor infrastructure, poor quality of meals, etc. provided under the programme.
Some stakeholders including parents have also asked to government to open the programme up such that parents who can afford to pay the tuition of their wards and are willing to pay would be allowed to while the programme will be opened to the wards of those who can’t afford schools.
Recently, it was speculated that the programme will be canceled due to the government’s move to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for support. However, these claims have been dismissed by the Deputy Minister.
“I understand the economic challenges we are facing now, due to the COVID-19 Pandemic and I want to assure everyone that the government is on its toes to make things better,” she said.
The four-day engagement enabled the MP to interact with some constituents in Fremponso, Darkokrom, Nanapa, Accra village, Moseaso, Adasawaso and Ehiawoanwu.
In addition to the interaction, residents received agrochemicals and cutlasses (for farmers), jerseys and footballs to the youth and streetlights to brighten the respective communities.
She further thanked the constituents for their steadfast support, prayers, and valuable advice that had helped in the development of the constituency.