A former Ashanti Regional Minister in the erstwhile Mahama administration, Peter Anarfi Mensah has cast doubt on a successful implementation of government’s flagship education program, “Free Senior High School.”
“It is my wish that it should be successful but I doubt the success of it. We are not saying it is not good to have free SHS but it should be progressively gradually free. We should have given ourselves this year to do the feasibility study about how successful it will be instead of rushing into such program.”
“They (government) could have deferred it to somewhere next year by that time we might have been able to study the terrain; feasibility study is done and everything is ok then we jump into it but right now, a full year absorb fee has not been paid and you compound it with this free program. Well let’s wait and see how successful it will be,” he observed.
He explains that government’s priority in implementing this policy now is misplaced since the needed infrastructures are not in place to absorb the students.
The Minister of Education, Mattew Opoku Prempeh has given assurance that the Akufo-Addo government will not be distracted in its determination to ensure the successful implementation of the Free Senior High School policy come September this year.
“Free SHS is one of deceit they used in the 2016 elections. They (NPP) claimed during the campaign time that Ghana has money and that the nation is rich. Therefore coming to tell us Ghana has no money is one of those lies they trumpeted during the campaign.” The former Head Master of Tepa Senior High School, Mr. Anarfi Mensah, told Nana Darkwah Gyasi on the Gold Power Drive Friday.
