Member of Parliament for Assin Central and NPP flagbearer aspirant, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong has explained that the current challenges parents are facing with the government’s flagship Free SHS is as a result of the attitude of some headmasters and headmistresses of some senior high schools.
The Free SHS Policy is an initiative of the Akufo-Addo-led government aimed at making second-cycle education accessible and free for all Ghanaians irrespective of their social status.
Speaking on Accra-based UTV on Tuesday, the flagbearer aspirant insisted that President Akufo-Addo deserves accolades for implementing the policy which he describes as unprecedented in all countries running similar policies.
“There is nowhere in the world that Free SHS introduced by him (President Akufo-Addo) is practiced to the latter,” the vociferous politician noted.
Following the implementation of the policy during the first term of President Akufo-Addo, a number of challenges have been reported. Some of these challenges include the lack of infrastructure leading to overcrowding, and shortage of food among others.
One pressing challenge which has defeated the purpose of the policy is the informal fees and charges demanded by some heads of schools.
According to Kennedy Agyapong, this challenge is a deliberate creation of the heads of schools defeating the purpose of the policy. Citing an example to buttress his claim, he revealed that the daughter of his driver who was admitted to a top girls’ SHS in Ghana had to buy a prospectus worth GHC10,000.
“That is what the headmasters and headmistresses do. They have defeated the purpose of Free SHS because the fees and charges they demand from students are more than when we used to pay school fees,” he stated.
Watch the video below:
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