General News of Sunday, 7 October 2012

Source: radioxyzonline

SHS Education: Access, quality should be paramount - Minister

A deputy minister of Information James Agyenim Boateng has described as deceptive, many of the promises being made by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Flagbearer, Nana Akufo-Addo.

Mr. Agyenim Boateng was critical about the NPP flag bearer’s promise of free SHS education describing it as unfeasible at the moment.

He told XYZ News what is relevant at the moment is to widen infrastructure in the schools and make the schools accessible to students.

He said the National Democratic Congress government is committed to reducing the infrastructural deficit in most senior high schools.

“We have access problems [and] we have quality problems. As I speak to you now we have 9,000 students have applied to enter Wesley Girls High School. 6,900 of them had 9-1s. What it means is that all of them are qualified [but] they have placement for only 350 students.”

He said it is therefore proper to make access the most important issue before making it free for all. He is of the view that if it is made free now, access to such schools will not be possible.