National Security, Fire Service To Join High Powered Free SHS Monitoring Team

The ministry of education has announced a monitoring team to oversee government’s flagship Free Senior High School program.

The team will include representatives from the National Ambulance Service, National Fire Service, National Security, school heads and Auditors.

The minister of education Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh announced this in Kumasi at a consultative meeting held with heads of senior high schools, the Computer School Placement Secretariat and directors of the Ghana Education Service.

Sounding a caution to the school heads he warned, “You should be very very clear that if you don’t understand anything about the program, let’s seek clarification because we don’t want headmasters to go back to their institutions and one plus one becomes which angle you are asking the question or which language is being asked.

Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh used the occasion to explain into detail the modalities, intricacies, mode of government’s release of funding and criterion for the operation of the Free Senior High School Program.

Some of heads of schools expressed satisfaction with the levels of consultation and the clarity given by the ministry, after a rigorous question and answer session.

Some were excited about the programme, as it would help eliminate the practice of sending defaulting students home for school fees.

Others expressed satisfaction over the free textbooks component of the programme, which would help improve studies.

A few however expressed worry over the influx of volunteer teachers as a result of government's non-clearance for more teaching staff to be recruited.