President John Mahama has dismissed claims that the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy has been abandoned, insisting his government has not only maintained it but also strengthened it.

Addressing his maiden media encounter on Wednesday, September 10, he said: “Contrary to the widespread misinformation that was circulated before December 7, 2024, the Free SHS policy has not only been maintained, indeed it has been strengthened.”

He revealed that the government has made the biggest commitment to the policy since its inception.

“We’ve made the highest budgetary allocation in the history of the policy. As of now, a staggering 3.5 billion Ghana cedis has been dedicated to the Free SHS.”

Mahama explained that improving access alone was not enough, and steps were being taken to ensure quality.

“We understand that access without quality is inadequate, and that’s why we’re implementing the decentralisation of feeding policy to allow the management of schools to make their own feeding arrangements, to provide students with quality meals.”

He also pointed to renewed attention on basic education as part of his administration’s broader reforms.

“Our commitment to foundational learning is equally strong. Basic Education has received its highest budget allocation in almost a decade, reflecting our determination to rebuild the educational ladder from the ground up.

"With GH¢564.6 million allocated so far for textbooks, we’re addressing long-standing challenges in the system, particularly those caused by the reduced funding of the recent past.”