Proceeds From Natural Resources To Fund Free SHS – Akufo-Addo

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has explained that proceeds from the nation’s natural resources, including oil and gas, will be used in financing the Free Senior High School (SHS) programme.

The Free SHS programme, which is the government’s flagship policy, started on Monday, 11 September as first-year students who were successfully placed in various SHSs reported officially to register.

Many including the Minority in Parliament have asked the government to disclose the source of funding for the programme.

Speaking during the launch of the programme on Tuesday, September 12 at West African Secondary School (WASS), Mr Akufo-Addo said: “To ensure that no child is denied access to secondary education, we are removing one of the biggest obstacles which currently stands in their ways, cost.

“The cost of providing free secondary school education will be cheaper than the cost of the alternative of an uneducated and unskilled workforce that has the capacity to retard our development.”

He added: “Leadership is about choices, I have chosen to invest in the future of our youth and our country. We have decided to use the proceeds from our natural resources to help educate the population to drive our economic transformation.

“Instead of the revenues from our minerals and oil resources ending up in the hands of a few people, the most equitable and progressive way of using these revenues is to educate and empower our population to strengthen our nation.”