Minority Leader and Member of Parliament for Effutu, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has described the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) programme as the most consequential social intervention in Ghana’s Fourth Republic.
Speaking at the Young Commons Forum at the University of Cape Coast on Saturday, February 21, Mr. Afenyo-Markin said that despite ongoing public debate about the policy, its impact on access to secondary education across the country remains undeniable.
“The critics can be loud and say all they can about the Free SHS but by far, without arguments, it stands as the most emblematic social intervention of the Akufo-Addo administration. And without subjecting it to any further argument, the most consequential social intervention in Ghana’s Fourth Republic,” he stated.
According to him, the programme fundamentally altered the educational landscape by removing financial barriers that had historically prevented many students from progressing beyond basic education.
“By removing financial barriers at the secondary level, the policy drastically expanded access to education for thousands of students from low income households who would otherwise, would have been excluded from senior high school,” he added.
The Free SHS programme was rolled out in 2017 shortly after former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo assumed office, as part of efforts to reduce inequality in educational access and to strengthen the country’s human capital base.
Since its implementation, the policy has enabled hundreds of thousands of students to enrol in senior high schools nationwide, significantly increasing participation rates and reshaping secondary education in Ghana.
Mr. Afenyo-Markin maintained that while public policies inevitably attract scrutiny, the scale, reach and long-term implications of Free SHS make it a defining feature of the Akufo-Addo administration’s legacy.
Other GCNews
No Comment! Be the first one.