The Ministry of Education announced that over 25,000 students have been placed in private senior high schools (SHSs) as part of this year’s Free SHS intake.

These students are among approximately 590,000 candidates who received placement and are reporting to schools nationwide.

This move is part of a broader partnership with private schools to support the Free SHS program by absorbing excess enrolment from public schools.

While this effort may help reduce congestion in public schools, several key issues remain unaddressed.

Firstly, the Ministry has not clarified the criteria used to select the roughly 70 private schools participating.

Nor has it provided a breakdown of how many students each school is accepting.

This lack of transparency is crucial for public accountability and to ensure that the distribution benefits students' best interests.

Funding remains a key concern. The government has allocated GH₵331 per student each term, totalling GH₵994 annually, excluding tuition.

It is uncertain whether this amount covers essential expenses like textbooks, uniforms, stationery, maintenance, and extracurricular activities.

If private schools have boarding facilities, the current funding may be insufficient, potentially resulting in extra costs for parents and creating disparities between students in public and private schools.

Questions also remain about regulatory oversight.

Are these private schools required to follow the Ghana Education Service (GES) rules? Will the standards of instruction, discipline, and supervision match those of public SHSs?

Without clear guidelines, there is a risk of inconsistencies in the quality of education that would be provided.

Teacher employment and welfare add to the complexity of the issue.

It is unclear whether teachers in these private schools will be hired by the government or the schools themselves, and if they will receive equal pay and benefits as their counterparts in public schools. Differences here could affect morale and the quality of teaching.

While the government's move aims to maintain the Free SHS policy amid capacity limitations, critics contend that the estimated GH₵24.85 million allocated for this pilot could have been better spent expanding infrastructure in existing public schools, a more sustainable long-term solution.

With just 25,000 out of 590,000 placed in private schools, the allocation represents a small fraction of total enrolment, suggesting the situation could still be managed if infrastructure expansion efforts were fast-tracked.

Therefore, if the partnership with private schools is to continue, it must be supported by clear regulations, sufficient funding, and strict compliance with GES standards.

Without these measures, there is a genuine risk that students enrolled in private schools will face inequality under a policy intended to provide free and fair access to secondary education for everyone.