A former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Professor Ivan Addae Mensah, has warned that government will need to revisit the implementation of the Free Senior High School Programme.
He explained that although the government is likely to lose political points if it decides to have a second look at the programme because the opposition will make political capital out of it, there is the need to revisit the programme to make those who can afford to pay.
Otherwise, he told Alfred Ocansey on Sunrise on 3FM 92.7, the country will pay an economic price in future.
The Free SHS is the flagship programme of the Akufo-Addo administration which is intended to give all Ghanaian children access to secondary education irrespective of their financial statistics in the society.
Prof Addae Mensah said: “I made it very clear that things were not like what they were 50 or 60 years ago when most children could not afford the fee for school.
“Now we have quite a lot of people who can afford to pay fees at the senior high level…Ideally, I don’t think that it is too late to revisit the issue…”
But he admitted that “it has now become a political thing and we’re in an election. If the president says that we’re going to revisit the issue, the opposition parties or the minority parties are going to take it up…and it will be a political disaster”.
“On the hand, if he doesn’t go back to it, we may have a price to pay in future economically. And now these children who are now being produced en masse will soon be going to the universities, where are they going to be put, we haven’t even started planning that aspect of it and how much it’s going to cost…,” he added.
Source: 3 news
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You mean to tell me that the economic impact of educating millions of children to acquire needed skills to propel the country into industrialisation is far more severe than leaving millions behind because of affordability? Wow, an educated person thinking like this is shocking. The cost of this is not even loans, its primarily from a percentage of oil revenue so whare lie the confusion? The reason why we are where we are is largely base on a minimal amount of people been educated. Can't read, can't write, don't understand issues properly, can't argue and defend themselves, been abuse without knowing your right, can't attract new business opportunity because of unskilled labour, minimal amount of doctors, minimal amount of teachers, corrupt and abusive police force because of lack of understanding and respecting the law, been abuse by religion and its leaders because of lack of understanding, low quality of life, increase poverty and preventable disease/deaths, these are few effects of not educating your people. The economic, social and psychological impact of free SHS far outweighs whatever this man is saying. It takes a visionary leader to see and do what Nana Addo is doing. You are what you think, you thought of lack of money, Nana Addo thought of abundance and he found a way to get it and that is the quality of our president. He belive and he act it. You don't so you never spent the time to use your brain to think to fix it, only talkative wasted all our time and money.
This is not a problem. It is an issue worth addressing. Forwarding thinking individuals can take up this challenge. It is resolvable. The counter would be insane.
how this man said he is a professor, but went children to be taking out from school because of fees. no way . what can of man is this ?
Sir I totally disagree with you. There is no price anywhere to if we see it as a necessity. If there will be any price, it would rather been when we revert to old system when education was for the few rich. When the free SHS was being enjoyed by the students of the north we never heard of anything like this and we did not pay any price but now that we have extended it to cover the other parts we try to downplay it . Tell us things to do to get more money to finance it rather than saying those who can pay must pay. This ideology in itself is rhetorical because who will come out to say am reach so I will pay. What basis are you going to define who is reach and poor? President Mahama was from a reach home yet he enjoyed free education from the north. Even scholarships for needy but brilliant students always divert to the children of the rich few so please let us enjoy our free education
Back in the early 80's, the Unity Party of Nigeria won the elections in the 5 Yoruba states then and declared free education. I was one of the many Ghanaian teachers who went there. Well after the students reported, building of structures continued. Forty years after, look even at the diction of Yoruba people speaking the English Language and the huge turnout of highly educated persons. The Professor is living in his ivory tower doing research for writing articles sake for publication in academic journals. Let him prove the thinking behind his predictions. There are consequences for every human activity. But Free Education is better than have millions of illiterate youth roaming our streets
I totally disagree with Professor on this . Economic Price ? What is more economic price than not educating the children? He should rather provide an advice on how the government can finance the programme to make it more sustainable rather than revisiting it. University Expansion? Not everybody can or wants go to the university BUT basic education like this is extremely important . One can continue his/her education at the university level at anytime in the life time.
Prof.please the train has taken off and it is already far,no going back.As a social programme let every Ghanaian child enjoy Free SHS. As for the Universities expansion projects are in the way.But the economic price can never be negative but positive.Education is the only means a society can make it's citizens more resourceful and sharp in mind.