President Akufo-Addo has been defending his government's Free Senior High School policy amidst criticism that the initiative is producing low-quality students, thereby lowering education standards.

Speaking at the Annual Ghana Bar Association Conference in Kumasi on Monday, September 9, President Akufo-Addo argued that the policy has benefited many underprivileged students and increased the number of enrollments in secondary schools.

The president advised individuals who believe the quality does not meet their standards to enroll their wards in private institutions. However, he emphasized that his government remains committed to providing education for the underprivileged in society.

“People who can afford to pay fees for the education of their ward should send them to fee paying private schools.

“Public schools, schools funded by the taxpayer should be free to all who would otherwise, be unable to pay for their education. That is why the number of people who have access to second cycle education has doubled since the introduction of free senior high school policy,” he said.

The President's comment was a direct response to the outgoing President of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), ), Yaw Acheampong Boafo, who had argued that rich parents be allowed to pay for their wards so that the Free SHS can be targeted to those who can't pay the free-up resources.

“The Free SHS programme must be means-tested using the data compiled by the National Identification Authority so that rich parents do not suddenly transform to become peasant farmers, as in the days of old when we had the COCOBOD scholarship.

“Students from comfortable backgrounds who attended expensive basic schools must pay fees at the senior high school level so that resources are free to fully cater for the poor. Mr. President, we must invest more in ‘syto’  (public schools) education, eliminate schools under trees, and provide sanitary pads for poor young girls first before spending so much on secondary education.

“As one comes before two, so basic education comes before secondary education. There is also this recent revelation about the school feeding programme from the Auditor General, which should serve as a source of concern for us and call for review and improvements in the operations of the programme, the main beneficiaries of which are people from poor backgrounds.”

However, the President, who took the podium after Mr Yaw Acheampong Boafo vehemently disagreed with that position.