President Akufo-Addo has once again touted the relevance of the free Senior High School policy.
He said despite the demonisation of the policy by his government’s detractors, the initiative has been transformative, broken myths and liberated minds.
“Mr Speaker, I believe the success of the Free SHS has answered its critics, and the arguments about it should cease, and we should simply concentrate on finding ways to improve it. I am particularly glad that the fears about lowering of standards have been allayed. Refreshingly, we witnessed, through the 2023 batch of Free SHS students, the best WASSCE results in a decade,” the President said while delivering his last but one State of the Nation Address to the 8th Parliament on February 27.
According to him, “It is humbling on the one hand and frightening on the other, to think of the sheer number of talents that Free SHS has unearthed that would otherwise have ended their formal education at BECE. I know we will get more engineers, doctors, architects, scientists, writers and poets out of the increased numbers of those attending Senior High School, who will go on to further education.”
President Akufo-Addo noted that even if the free SHS beneficiaries are unable to further their education, Ghana will benefit from the skills they acquired.
“…imagine what a million more Secondary School educated young people will do to our self-confidence and the value of our workforce. That, alone, makes Free SHS worthwhile. I am proud that the NPP government, under my leadership, has been able to bring this transformative policy into our education system,” the President stressed.
Please read full speech below: