Ghana is really stepping up its game in improving the educational sector by making sure that the less privilged also have access to education. The new President, Nana Akufo-Addo made good on his campaign promise to deliver free secondary education for children across the country. This is a dream come true for so many Ghanaians.
In addition, the President stated that all educational needs at the secondary level will be free for all the new entrance students:
“there will be no admission fees, no library fees, no science center fees, no computer laboratory fees, no examination fees, no utility fees. There will be free textbooks, free boarding and free meals, and day students will get a meal at school for free.”
This is a great news for Ghana’s more than 400,000 students entering secondary school this year. Many parents who can not afford the education fees made their children sit at home. To this effect, many have eventually enrolled their children in schools in order to benefit from the government’s recent policy.
Reports confirmed that many students’ educational aspirations end because of secondary school fees. In Ghana, in 2014, only 37 percent of students were enrolled in secondary education. This is a great encouragement on the educational sector and also a great move to show forth the importance and value of education.
Further more, Ghana’s president also said that the government is working on ensuring that the junior schools also have the equal opportunity to benefit from the new free education scheme
“we will ensure that students from basic public schools have equal opportunity to enrol in any of the top senior high schools in the country.”
Some people are concerned about how the government would sustain such policy. However, Ghana is not the only country taking steps in this direction. In 2015, Gambia removed fees from all public schools from primary to secondary level; in 2016, Tanzania removed lower secondary education fees to boost education numbers; and now, Kenya and Uganda are also offering free education at the primary level. There are currently 42 African countries offering free primary education.
This new free education policy had brought smiles to the faces of many Ghanaians. The poor in the country applaud the government for taking a bold to providing a valued need for the poor. The government is still working on other projects that will benefit Ghanaians. However, the people hope that more great things will come to stay in the country.
