The government of Ghana is not struggling to finance the free Senior High School (SHS) programme, the Public Relations Officer of the Free SHS Secretariat, Jose Bertha Gyan-Kwakye, has said.
According to her, the government has set its priorities right as far as the programme is concerned, therefore, funds have been earmarked for the programme.
She, however, said affluent parents who feel the need to pay for their wards’ education can do so through the Parent Teacher Association (PTA).
Since the introduction of the programme, some Ghanaians have expressed fears about the sustainability of its funding.
But President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Monday, 15 October 2018, when he launched the oil and gas licensing round 2018 at the Kempinski Hotel, Accra, said: “We are investing revenues from oil in one of the most ambitious social programmes of our country’s history, i.e. the Free Senior High School policy. In the 2018 budget, GHS455.9 million of petroleum revenues was allocated to the Free SHS programme.”
The president stressed that: “Free SHS is ensuring that our oil revenues are being equitably distributed to our people, and not ending up in the pockets of a few. The most important resource of any nation is its people.”
He continued: “Investing in our children and in the future of our country is the most appropriate investment any Government can make, and we are fully committed to continuing on this path.”
Speaking on Ghana Yensom on Accra 100.5FM Tuesday, 13 November with show host Kwabena Prah Jnr. (The Don), Ms Gyan Kwakye said: “The government is not struggling to fund the programme because it has set its priorities right.”
“The government wanted to do Free SHS and, so, money was made available for it, that is the priority,” she added.
Source : Ghana/AccraFM.com
