Ghana has decided to take education to a greater level by rendering assistance to the less privileged. On this course, Ghana has decided to rolled out its free senior high school programme for freshmen with 424,092 students expected to be beneficiaries during the 2017/2018 academic year. This is a great opportunity to expand the educational system of the country.
Reports have confirmed that the programme, also referred to as Free SHS, is part of the education policy promised by the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) led by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo during the 2016 presidential election campaign. Finally, one of the expected promises has been fulfilled.
In addition, the government set aside GHS400 million ($90 million) to implement the programme. This fund went directly into the programme which commenced on Monday. This programme has long been awaited by the beneficiaries. “It is a good thing it finally started” one of the beneficiaries said.
Reports confirmed that admission is open to only senior high school freshmen at the first phase and they are exempted from paying fees for admission, tuition, library, examination, meals among others. This was confirmed by the president during the launching. Also, the exemption also affects boarding school students who will not pay fees for accommodation as well as day school students who will get a hot meal each day at school for free, the president further stated.
However, the beneficiaries of the maiden Free SHS programme are expected to enjoy the policy till the end of their three-year high school period. The programme is set to ease the burden of finance that has deprived most people from being educated.
One of the beneficiaries explained how fortunate he is to have been chosen as one of the beneficiaries. He stated how far the programme will go to assist the less privileged in achieving their goals in life. The government has also promised to further extend the programme to more beneficiaries in due time.
Some people had stated their disregard for the programme by pointing out that it only benefits the freshmen while many commended the government’s efforts to practically ensure that education gets to the door steps of the poor. One of the obstacles to accessing good education is finance and the government has decided to lift part of the burden to achieving success.
The president of Ghana, Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is set to assist the less privileged to achieve their goals with less or no finance. The beneficiaries are really excited with this assistance and hope that more assistance will be rendered to lift others as well.
