Child Rights International Executive Director, Bright Appiah, highlighted that the free Senior High School (Free SHS) program is not directly impacting the economy.

He emphasized that the perception of its negative effects stems from inadequate policy management.

During an interview on TV3's New Day show with Roland Walker on June 21, Appiah stated, "If we implement the free SHS very well, we will have gains in building a very strong economy. Probably because we are not managing the policy very well, we think that it is affecting the economy of this country."

Appiah further urged a comprehensive understanding of the policy's foundation to determine how to strengthen and expand it. He expressed concerns about the lack of clarity from the government regarding their social intervention plans, stating, "But if you look at what is happening now, the government is not clear on what they want to do with our social intervention."

Regarding the initial targeting system suggestion for the program, Appiah explained, "So free SHS is very unique. Initially, I was part of the group that said that we should start with targeting because in implementing such a program, you need to understand the numbers you are going to deal with so that you can do your projection properly. If you don’t know the numbers or the dynamics that exist and the numbers increase, it means your budget allocation will be increasing."

However, Appiah acknowledged the government's perspective, stating, "So we thought that there would be a need for us to have the targeting system, but the government explained that there are people who pay taxes, there are people who contribute to the development of this country, but there had never been any policy that is targeting those people not because they can’t provide."

YNA/WA