A former Minister of State for Economic Planning calls for alternative funding sources for free senior high school (SHS) policy to ease the economic burden on government.

Dr Samuel Nii-Noi Ashong has advised the government to find an alternative source of funding for its flagship programme, Free Senior High School.

Government has spent about ¢8 billion on free SHS since its introduction in 2017; however, the policy was left untouched when the Finance Minister announced a series of spending cuts to save the ailing economy.

Speaking at the 95th Achimota School Founder Day Celebration in Accra, Dr Ashong indicated that the free education policy has placed an enormous burden on public expenditure.

Hence, there is the need for other funding sources to be explored.

“There is no nay-saying that the initiative to provide free SHS education for all eligible Ghanaians is very laudable. The opportunity has now been created for several students who hitherto may not have had the financial resources to access secondary education.

“This policy, however, places a humongous funding burden on government. There is a need for a paradigm shift in this regard to ease this burden. It may be worth considering other ways of bridging the funding gap,” he said on Saturday.

On Thursday, Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta said government has no intention of “rolling back” Free SHS.

At a press briefing, the Minister reiterated government's commitment to ensuring that all children of school-going age can access quality education.

He explained that the programme is a sustainable approach to transforming the country.

“Let me say this; President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has absolutely no intention to roll back on a major policy like Free SHS.

“We see education as the best enabler for sustainable economic growth and transformation and will do more to improve it to serve more and better our children,” he stated.

However, Dr Ashong suggested that alumni associations get involved in funding Senior High School education.

“Can we then, for instance, allow alumni associations to have greater involvement in the governance and funding Senior High School education,” he noted.

Background

Prior to the 2020 election, President Akufo-Addo said Ghanaians should not allow the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) to review its flagship Free SHS programme when it comes into office.

The President said Mr Mahama’s return could mean the programme's cancellation.

However, the NDC flagbearer had said he will review the Free-SHS policy within his first 90-days in office if elected in the upcoming 2020 general elections.

The NDC flagbearer cited inadequate consultation with stakeholders in exploring the most effective ways to implement the programme.

Earlier this week, conversations on Free SHS arose when the government announced a review of its flagship programmes.

The Free SHS programme was a major campaign promise by then-candidate Nana Akufo-Addo in 2016, which has subsequently become an essential part of the educational system.