GES to set up monitoring and evaluation system for free SHS

The Ghana Education Service (GES), has hinted of setting up a strong monitoring and evaluation system to see to the successful implementation of the Free Senior High School (SHS) proposed by the government.

According to the Director-General of GES, Professor Kwasi Opoku Amankwa, the monitoring and evaluation team, which would include auditors, would help with the auditing of facilities of the public SHS across the country, so as to give the government knowledge on the number of students the schools would accommodate under the free SHS policy.

“There would be a strong monitoring, evaluation and auditing team to see to the successful implementation of the free SHS; there are systems that we are going to put in place, this time, we are not going to allow heads of schools to take as many as they wish, they are going to give us the specific numbers that they can comfortably accommodate,” Prof. Amankwa indicated.

Prof. Amankwa was addressing newsmen, here, at the closing ceremony of a three- day stakeholders workshop in Kumasi, yesterday.

The workshop, which brought together, educational directors, accountants, bursars and other stakeholders, was to deliberate on government’s policies on education as well as the successful implementation of the free SHS this year.

Prof. Amankwa explained that, the auditing team would confirm whether the schools could actually accommodate the number they wished for or more.

The Deputy Minister of Education in charge of Basic Schools, Barbara Asher Ayisi, on her part, reassured that, the introduction of the Free Senior High School (SHS) would not compromise the standard of the SHS education as government would work hard to promote education in the country.

Ms. Ayisi noted that, all the system at the SHS level would still function and that nothing would change under the implementation of the free SHS.

“Free SHS is for all of us, but we do not want to compromise standards, we want people to have confidence in our education, all the system are still in place, the computer placement, monitoring, quality teaching among others,” she said.

Madam Ayisi mentioned that, the free SHS initiative by the government was going to cater for all but most importantly, the poor and vulnerable in the country and also give fair opportunities to all school-going children to have the experience of education to the SHS level.

She, then, called for the cooperation of all Ghanaians for the successful implementation of the initiative as it would benefit all.