Education Minister Debunked IMF Claim on Free SHS
A criticism by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that Ghana’s free Senior High School policy has caused poor learning outcomes has been debunked by the Minister of Education.
Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum contends that the recent results in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) are evidence of the positive impact of the policy.
He emphasised that the government’s policies in teacher incentive grants are to mitigate the challenges of the policy and improve its performance.
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IMF Programme
Ghana has entered into several programmes with the IMF to address fiscal imbalances, structural reforms and macroeconomic stabilization.
In the recent deal, the IMF indicated the country’s flagship Free Senior High School Programme which covers the full cost of secondary education, has helped to increase enrolment but is poorly targeted.
The Education Minister while speaking at the launch of the 60th anniversary of Kumasi High School (KUHIS), acknowledged concerns raised against the free SHS policy.
“There were many even within our party who were asking the President to hasten slowly because it was going to be an expensive proposition. But he was in a hurry.
The FSHS was implemented with all the concerns expressed by many people. Increasing enrolment at high schools did not diminish learning outcomes.
It is not the case that free SHS is hindering academic performance. We had the best learning outcomes with WAEC 2022 results.
“Why the policy has stood the test of time is because we moved the cost barrier and got students to be in school. So we have more contact hours for students. As part of free SHS, we created an incentive grant programme so teachers are given extra money to provide extra support. All these are to increase learning outcomes,” he said.
60 years of Holistic Education
The 60th anniversary of Kumasi Senior High School has been themed: “60 years of holistic education in a safe school environment, what next?”
The occasion assembled past students who are excelling in various fields.
The launch is to usher in year-long activities to celebrate the school’s 60th anniversary in 2024.
Old students would reflect on memories, network, and discuss policies to improve the conditions of the school.
Chairman of the anniversary’s planning committee, Reverend Peter Owusu Mensah, implored the government to tackle problems crippling the free SHS policy.
“Our educational system so far isn’t that bad. We want to congratulate the government for introducing the free SHS system that has opened doors for people who had no hope of going to school to have the opportunity to study. It’s a laudable idea, but we also want them to look at the various problems and challenges they’re encountering, especially with their feeding and their textbook issues. They’ll be able to actualize their vision and make it a harmonious one,” he said.
He revealed plans to elevate a school’s sports complex to improve and nurture sports talents within the institution.
“What the school needs now is a sports complex. Because for some time, the students have been training at Paa Joe Park for their various athletics. So we’ve resolved to give them an ultra-modern sports complex that consists of a pitch, track, changing room, and a sitting area. And that will cost us around 11.3 million Ghana Cedis,” said Rev. Owusu Mensah.
Kumasi High School is the reigning champion of the Milo Interschool Football Competition and presently the defending champion of the Luv FM High Schools Debate competition.
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Source; Myjoyonline.com
