Free SHS Not Yet Under Review; GES Boss Only Made An Analogy – Education Ministry

The Education Ministry and the Ghana Education Service (GES) seem to be on different pages when it comes to the future of the Free Senior High School policy’s implementation.

The funding of the government’s flagship programme has come under scrutiny, especially in the face of the current economic downturn being experienced in the country.

Some senior high schools have complained of food shortages and lack of funds for smooth running of activities.

On the back of this, GES Director-General, Prof. Kwasi Opoku Amankwah indicated that works towards a review of the programme are currently underway.

This exercise, he revealed, is geared at determining which of the cost components government can relinquish to parents to pay.

“…we can do the analysis and then come up and say that, ok, to give Raymond quality education, it will cost this much. Within that cost, these are the items in the cost.

“Then we will all put it out there and say this item, we can make do of it, and it will not affect quality, this item, I think we can get parents to pay,” he said on Upfront, Thursday.

Prof Amankwah also explained that they are nowhere near a conclusion but a key component of the review is geared at ensuring a cost arrangement that ensures quality.

However, the Education Ministry says no such discussion has come to its attention.

As far as the Ministry’s spokesperson, Kwasi Kwarteng is concerned, no discussions have been had to this effect.

Speaking on JoyNews‘ The Pulse today, Mr Kwarteng insisted that the GES Director-General was only drawing an analogy during his assertion.

“The Director-General was drawing an analogy based on what he himself as a person has been doing in his office. At no point did he make any emphatic statement that the Free SHS policy was going to be reviewed,” he said on Friday.

For that matter, the context in which he made the comment does not reflect a general review, in Mr Kwarteng’s view.

According to him, the final responsibility to make any changes to the social intervention programme lies in the bosom of the Education Ministry, which he says, has not considered any such move.

“Policy decisions largely, if you want to go into the details of it, has to do with the Executive for that matter the President of the land and the Ministry, in this case, which happens to be the Minister of Education Dr Yaw Adutwum. These are the only people who ordinarily may make even pronouncements of policy decisions,” he added.