All Students To Be Under Free SHS From September

Increase government spending on education in the next year budget

By Benson Afful

Nana Akufo-Add0, President, The Republic of Ghana

In September 2017, when President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo- Addo led-government began the Free Senior High School (SHS) program with only the first year students, some political analysts questioned the essence of the ‘free SHS’ as it only benefited first-year students but not all SHS students.

Prior 2016 election when then-candidate, Nana Akufo Addo promised free SHS policy, it was believed by many, free SHS means free for every student in Senior High School at the time. However in 2017, when the program implemented, it saw only first-year students being the pioneers of the program, amidst heavy criticism from his political opponents.

Now, two years down the line, as the third batch of beneficiaries has completed their Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), means from September this year, when they receive their placements into various SHSs across the country will make every SHS student in the country a beneficiary under the policy. The placement of these candidates to SHSs by September will also bring the number of beneficiaries of the policy to about 1.3 million students. The first year of the program’s implementation saw the enrolment of over 400,000 students in the various secondary schools. Last year, about 500,000 students also benefited from the program.

This year, over 500,000 JHS candidates sat for the BECE will receive their placement into the various SHSs by September.

This expected increase in government spending on education in next year budget as enrolment of SHS up a total of 1.3 million students, the highest since independence. Before the Free SHS program introduced, the total population of students in SHS stood at 432,780 per the 2016 academic year data. With GH¢ 2,312 spent on each student per year by the government.

Already the government has spent about GHc 800 million on the free SHS policy since its implementation, and this is expected to increase in the next budget. In the 2018 budget, GH¢ 455.9 million in petroleum revenues allocated to the Free SHS program.

President Nana Akufo-Addo during the launch of the free SHS policy in 2017 said his government would invest revenues from oil in one of the most ambitious social programs of the country’s history, that is, the Free Senior High School policy. According to him, the free SHS is ensuring that the country’s oil revenues are being equitably distributed to the people and not ending up in the pockets of a few.

Since its announcement that the government intends to use oil money to fund the free SHS policy, there have been criticisms by some civil society groups. That, it is risky for the government to rely solely on oil revenue funding the free SHS program. Insisting the government must diversify its sources in funding for the program, due to the instability of oil prices on the world market.