During his tour of the Western North Region on Tuesday, November 5, President Nana Akufo-Addo highlighted the achievements of the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) programme, noting that over 5.7 million students have benefited since its launch in 2017.

The president emphasized that the programme has been instrumental in improving Ghana’s education system, allowing more students to pursue higher education.

President Akufo-Addo acknowledged that while there are challenges in implementing Free SHS, the benefits have far outweighed the obstacles.

He pointed out that the initiative has provided a critical opportunity for students who otherwise would not have been able to progress from the basic to the senior high level due to financial constraints.

The president further noted that the programme’s impact is particularly significant for families across the nation who previously struggled to afford senior high school fees.

According to him, Free SHS has not only increased access to education but has also uplifted communities by giving young Ghanaians a chance to improve their prospects through education.

In his remarks, Akufo-Addo criticized those he referred to as “Jeremiahs” who doubted his promise to implement Free SHS when it was first proposed.

He expressed satisfaction that the programme has proven its critics wrong, reaffirming his commitment to expanding educational opportunities for Ghanaian youth.

"In the first place, before I became the president, every year our children after graduating from the Junior High level, over 100,000 were not able to continue to SHS. Even when they passed, because of the financial challenges of their parents, they were unable to proceed."

"So ten years - which means that over 1,000,000 kids are unable to proceed in their educational transition but today because of the Free SHS, which started in 2017, to date the changes that have come in our educational system are dramatic."

"When I assumed the reigns of government, we had 800,000 students in senior high school but today the figure is doubled and today 5.7 million students have benefited from the Free SHS policy."