President-elect John Dramani Mahama has reaffirmed his commitment to Ghana’s Free Senior High School (Free SHS) policy, assuring Ghanaians that the programme will remain intact while undergoing reforms to address its challenges.
He mentioned that its future direction will be decided through a non-partisan National Education Forum.
Speaking in an interview with Voice of America (VOA), Mr. Mahama rejected claims by New Patriotic Party (NPP) officials during the election campaign that he planned to scrap the programme.
“Free SHS has come to stay, and it is not going anywhere,” he said. “Nobody is going to scrap Free SHS. What was said was political talk and gimmickry. We are going to maintain it. What we are going to do is get dedicated funding for it so that it is better resourced than it is currently.”
He added, “There’s a lot of waste in the system. We’re going to help to make it more efficient so that the teachers, the parents, and the students get the best out of the Free SHS.”
Addressing broader educational challenges
Mr. Mahama highlighted the need to focus on basic education, which he described as neglected due to the emphasis on secondary education.
“We’re going to look at the basic school level too. Because we have focused on Free SHS, we are abandoning the basic level, and so the basic level is becoming a major problem. 1.3 million pupils at the basic level do not have furniture. They don’t have tables and chairs to sit on. They lie on their stomachs in the classroom or sit on cement blocks, and that’s because all our focus has been on the secondary school level,” he explained.
To address these challenges, Mr. Mahama announced plans to organize a National Education Forum to bring together key stakeholders from all sectors to evaluate the entire education system and develop comprehensive solutions.
“We’re going to hold a National Education Forum, and that forum is going to bring all the stakeholders together, and we’re going to take a look at the whole education value chain. And we’re going to come and by consensus—all of us. It’s non-partisan. Everybody of every walk of life who has a stake in education is going to be at that conference. And we are going to take important decisions on how to reform our education so that the children get better quality. And so that’s what we’re going to look at,” he stated.
The Free SHS Policy
The Free SHS programme, introduced in 2017 by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, provides free tuition, boarding, and meals for students in public senior high schools. It has increased access to secondary education, particularly for students from underprivileged backgrounds.
However, challenges such as overcrowded classrooms, inadequate infrastructure, and delayed funding have affected its implementation. Mr. Mahama plans to address these issues while sustaining the programme’s core benefits.
Mahama’s commitment
The President-elect’s commitment to Free SHS was a central message in his campaign, which resonated with voters concerned about education access and quality. His decisive victory in the December 7 elections, where he garnered 6,328,397 votes (56.55%) compared to Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s 4,657,304 votes (41.61%), highlighted public trust in his vision.