The Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo Markin, has thrown a challenge to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) minority in Parliament to publicly declare their stance on the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy.
According to him, the minority’s opposition to the yet-to-be-introduced bill seeking to make the policy mandatory for all governments is evident in comments made by the Ranking Member on the Education Committee, Peter Nortsu Kotoe.
Afenyo Markin, who is also the Member of Parliament for Effutu, urged the minority to reconsider their position and support the bill when it is introduced in Parliament.
He believes this will help enshrine the Free SHS policy into law, making it mandatory for all governments to implement it.
In 2017, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government, led by President Nana Akufo-Addo, introduced the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy, fulfilling a key campaign promise.
The policy aimed to provide free secondary education to all Ghanaian students, relieving families of financial burdens and increasing access to education.
The program began with first-year students in September 2017 and has since been rolled out to all three years of senior high school.
The government absorbed all fees, including tuition, boarding, and examination fees, totaling approximately GHS 1.3 billion (around $220 million) annually.
The Free SHS policy has increased enrollment, reduced dropout rates, and improved access to education, particularly for disadvantaged students.
While challenges exist, the policy has been widely praised as a significant step towards bridging the education gap and promoting socio-economic development in Ghana.
