NDC Showing Early Signs To Cancel Free SHS
Emerging signals point to a bleak future for the free SHS programme under the incoming John Mahama government. Comments by some senior NDC members since the party won the elections, clearly show that the biggest social intervention policy is under serious threat.
Tekper opposes free SHS
Former Finance Minister, Seth Tekper has already raised opposition to the free SHS, proposing that, at worse, it should be limited to day students, as it happens in Europe and the United States.
Speaking on Tv3 on Friday, December 13, Mr Terkper said, “Those in the diaspora, please you need to come into this discussion. Secondary education is free in Europe, and secondary education is free in the US, but they are day schools. The best government is doing, for instance in the US, is to put in yellow buses which you have to stop to give priority to the buses to take the kids to school.”
Elite
He further explained that it is the elite who attend boarding schools in rich developed countries.
According to him, this is because, the elite can afford the high costs of boarding school. “Why don’t we follow their examples? What makes us think that we should support free SHS unfettered? Unfettered in the sense that the government takes every cost. The warning came in 2018 early in the administration when we used GHS 2.2 billion of bond to support free SHS,” he added.
Government spending
Mr Tekper said it is wrong for the government to bear the full cost of the free SHS , saying already government has spent GHc 9.9 billion since its introduction by the Akufo-Addo administration in 2017.
