The Deputy Coordinator at the Free Senior High School (SHS) Secretariat, Nana Afrah Sika Mensah, urged the nation to shift its attention towards the triumphs of the policy rather than its obstacles.
While acknowledging existing challenges such as food shortages in certain schools, she contends that the positive impact of the Free SHS policy far outweighs its drawbacks.
In an exclusive interview with Nii Larte Lartey on Eyewitness News on Citi FM, Mensah stressed the policy’s significant benefits for children from underprivileged backgrounds.
She emphasised the need to prioritise the positive aspects of the initiative over the negative aspects, asserting that the Free SHS policy has been a lifeline for those in less privileged communities.
Mensah emphasised, “Free SHS has really helped us as a country, and then maybe had it not been for Free SHS, people like my siblings out there wouldn’t get access to quality education. So even though we have challenges, we should rather make the positives outweigh the challenges we are facing as a secretariat.”
She continued, “We’ve given people access to education. People from less endowed communities or those who are less privileged in the communities, had it not been for Free SHS, they would not get the opportunities to foot bills for their wards.”
The Free Senior High School (Free SHS) education policy in Ghana was a government initiative introduced in the 2017 September Presidential administration of Nana Akufo-Addo.
The policy’s origination began as part of the President’s presidential campaign during Ghana’s 2016 election period, and has become an essential part of Ghana’s educational system.
The policy’s core themes of access, equity and equality fulfil the United Nations modified Sustainable Development Goals, where member countries unite those themes in their educational systems to certify adequate learning experiences for students.
Respective politicians and social workers have been allocated the duty to ensure the policy’s efficiency, productivity and further development.
These leaders span from varying governmental departments including Ghana’s Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and Ghana Education Service and Ghana’s Ministry of Education.