Former President John Dramani Mahama, has reiterated the call for stakeholder engagement to review the Free Senior High School Policy to address the challenges bedevilling the policy and affecting the quality of education.
The ex-President’s call, follows that of the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church, Reverend Professor Joseph Obiri Yeboah Mante, who made a similar call at its 22nd General Assembly by asking the Akufo-Addo government to allow parents who can pay to do so. He said this in the presence of the President, Nana Akufo-Addo, who has remained adamant.
Again, Mr Mahama’s call also comes at a time the Minority in Parliament warns of a looming national crisis in Senior High Schools in the country if funds are not released to management of these schools to purchase perishables and pay arrears for same, SHS1 students will have to remain at home, and SHS2 students currently on campus will be sent home.
A letter addressed to the Regional Director of the Ghana Education Service (GES) by the Conference of Head of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) Northern Region and dated Monday 15th August 2022 had said “Suppliers who give us credit for perishable items like eggs and meat are not ready to continue with the supply owing to the amounts of indebtedness”.
“On the foregoing, we wish to state that if we do not get immediate releases the SHS 1 students of the single truck schools who would be due to return to school tomorrow Tuesday, August 16, 2022 would not report until we get money. This also include those in transitional schools who are also billed to report on September 4 2022.
According to Mr Mahama, a Bursary system that targets the poorest families and households, which also covers private senior High Schools would help to address the financial and infrastructural challenges of the policy.
Addressing the 8th Biennial National Delegates conference of Ghana National Association of Private Schools (GNAPS) ongoing in Koforidua on Wednesday, former President Mahama stated that the current implementation module of the Free SHS policy is unsustainable and lowering the quality and standard of education at the Secondary education level.
He, therefore, reiterated his call for a national stakeholders’ engagement for the Policy to be reviewed, and bring onboard private senior High schools to help address the financial and infrastructural challenges bedevilling the policy.
The time is now for us to rise to the occasion and collectively agree as actors in the political and developmental space on the need to depoliticise issues of urgent priority such as education delivery in our country…what is the use of education if it does not have the quality to give the learner a chance and opportunity in life.” the former President stated.
The former President added “If you don’t get it right at the primary and basic level, whatever you do at the secondary level is a wasted effort. You need to build a strong foundation at the basic level.”
He said the Free SHS has come to stay but the three pillars of education must not be compromised – access, affordability and quality. He, therefore, emphasized the need to involve private schools in the free SHS policy.
The Presbyterian Church of Ghana has added its voice to the growing calls for the review of the Free SHS programme.
”The Presbyterian Church of Ghana is of the strong opinion that the state can churn out some of these cost for parents who are capable of paying to do so. There are several parents who are capable of funding their ward’s studies.”
Meanwhile, he also appealed to the government to consider extending the Nation Builders Corp (NABCO) programme.
Reverend Professor Joseph Obiri Yeboah Mante urged the government to extend the program while working to find a sustainable solution to youth unemployment.
”Apparently the unviability of resources is affecting the sustainability of the program. Due to the rate of unemployment in the country, we plead with the government to extend the program while vigorous efforts are made to find a sustainable solution to the socio-economic and security challenges posed by youth unemployment in the country.
”We plead that any arrears and allowances owed the beneficiaries are paid to help improve their circumstances,” he added.
Earlier this week, the Northern Regional chapter of CHASS threatened to close down schools over lack of funds for food.
According to the Minority, government still owes the Buffer Stock Company in excess of GH¢300 million for food supplied to senior high schools, a situation the suppliers have vowed not to continue supplying food items unless they are reimbursed.
The Ranking Member on Parliament’s Education Committee, Peter Nortsu Kortoe, also to Citi News on the sidelines of the GNAPS Biennial Delegates Conference in Koforidua, indicated that there will be a national crisis in various schools if funds are not released by the end of this month.
“The problem is nationwide. It is not a matter for Eastern Region and Northern Region alone, it cuts across the whole country. Currently, as we speak, the government owes the Buffer Stock Company about 300 million Ghana cedis for food supplied to government schools. When the food items are supplied, government must give money to the schools to buy the perishable food. This has become a two-edged sword. We have a national crisis if nothing is done about the situation.”
Recently, the Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana expressed worry over the amount that is being used to feed students of Colleges of Education across the country.
This came after principals of Colleges of Education revealed that GH¢6.5 is the amount per head for feeding trainee teachers per day.
This, they say, has been the situation for over five years now, despite the recent increase in prices of food commodities in the country.
The Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana described the situation as unfortunate and has thus called on the government to increase the amount.
The CHASS letter titled “non-payment of money for perishables may lead to closure of schools in the Northern Regions” explained that “after an emergency meeting of Northern regions CHASS on August 15 2022 it came clear that:
1. Apart from arrears owed us in respect of perishable for the first semester of 2021/2022 academic year, no money has been paid for the eleven weeks of the second semester we have done so far, this makes going to the market very difficult.
2. Suppliers who give us credit for perishable items like eggs and meat are not ready to continue with the supply owing to the amounts of indebtedness.
3. On the foregoing, we wish to state that if we do not get immediate releases the SHS 1 students of the single truck schools who would be due to return to school tomorrow Tuesday, August 16, 2022 would not report until we get money. This also includes those in transitional schools who are also billed to report on September 4 2022.
4. Heads of Schools in the Region would be compelled to send the SHS 2 students who are in their second semester home
5. Lastly, Management is also entreated to pay the recurrent expenditure of the schools, which has been in arrears since last year. The non-payment of this component of our money is affecting the smooth running of our schools in issues such as maintenance and repairs, field trips, practical lessons in our laboratories etc.
