Critics of Free SHS will be shamed – Ursula Owusu-Ekuful

The Minister of Communications has stated that Ghanaians who criticize the sustainability of the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy will be put to shame since it is here to stay.

According to Hon. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, the Free SHS policy was born out of real life experiences and seeks to ensure that every Ghanaian child will experience the transformative power of education.

In an interview with Ghanaweb.com, the Communications Minister said: “constructive criticisms are fine but those who say it cannot be done have been shamed several times, they said the same with NHIS and it was done, this free SHS policy will succeed and provide real relief to parents with children under school going age.”

“Free SHS is not a campaign gimmick but was born out of [the] reality that we have all experienced the transformative power of education and that every Ghanaian child will benefit from this opportunity,” She added

The free SHS policy which was officially launched today September 12, 2017, at the West Africa Senior High School was the main campaign promise by the then candidate Nana Akufo-Addo in the 2016 election.

The government flagship education policy which began on September 11, 2017,seeks to increase access to Secondary Education by removing the burden of paying fees from parents.

Under this policy all fees approved by Ghana Education Service Council for 1st year student other than PTA dues, fees will be absorbed by government, this includes feeding fees, free texts books, subsidy for all continuing students, one-time fee items for 1st year student and all recurrent fee items for both day and boarding student.

Over 400,000 Senior High School student across the country are expected to benefit from the Free SHS policy.