During his tour of the Western North Region on Tuesday, November 5, President Nana Akufo-Addo emphasized the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) program’s accomplishments, stating that over 5.7 million pupils had benefited since its inception in 2017.
The President noted how the program has helped to improve Ghana’s education system, allowing more students to pursue higher education.
President Akufo-Addo admitted that, while there are hurdles to implementing Free SHS, the advantages clearly exceed the drawbacks.
Over 5.7m students have benefited from Free SHS since 2017
He emphasized that the project has provided an important chance for students who would not have been able to advance from the basic to the senior high level due to budgetary constraints.
The President further stated that the program’s impact is especially significant for families around the country who previously struggled to pay senior high school fees.
According to him, Free SHS has not only boosted access to education, but it has also benefited communities by providing young Ghanaians with the opportunity to improve their future prospects via education.
In his remarks, Akufo-Addo chastised people he referred to as “Jeremiahs” for questioning his vow to establish Free SHS when it was first introduced.
He expressed delight that the program has proven its naysayers wrong, and reaffirmed his commitment to increasing educational options for Ghanaian youth.
“In the first place, before I became President, every year over 100,000 children graduating from Junior High School were not able to continue to SHS—even if they passed—because of their parents’ financial challenges.”
“So, in ten years, almost 1,000,000 children were unable to complete their educational transition. However, the Free SHS program, which began in 2017, has resulted in substantial changes in our educational system.
“When I took over the country, there were 800,000 senior high school students. Today, that number has doubled, with 5.7 million kids benefiting from the Free SHS policy.”