Over one million fresh students in Ghana are expected to be enrolled in the Free Senior High School (SHS) programme for next academic year which begins in September, 2019, APA has learnt on Monday.
This was revealed by Ghanaian leader Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo during 4th Congregation of the University of Energy and National Resources (UENR) at Sunyani, capital of Bono Region last Saturday.
Speaking at the function, President Akufo Addo said the Free Senior High School programme which begun in 2017 would now have full-grown enrollment in September, stressing that the scheme would cover SHS1 to SHS3 .
The move has been hailed by some parents, especially those who could not afford to pay their children school fees at the secondary level.
According to the Ghanaian leader, the free SHS policy is a long term investment policy on human resource for the country and that the benefit would be reaped in future.
He noted that the free SHS policy was to ensure access to quality skills development, infrastructure expansion.
The Daily Guide Newspaper, quoted President Nana Addo as saying that his administration has created 43 percent access enrollment at the senior high school level.
However, the government has cut down entry point from aggregate 36 to 25 which means all students who failed to get aggregate 25 would not be admitted to he SHS or would not enjoy the policy.
This is being done to reduce mass admission which was introduced during the commencement of the policy two years ago.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has announced that beneficiaries of the free SHS would pay high tax when they begin to work.
He explained that the free SHS education was a long term investment by government to improve upon the human resource base in the country.
Some opposition politicians and civil society organisations have called on government to review the policy to enable those who can pay to do so because funding of the policy was affecting other sectors of the economy, resulting in harsh economic conditions.
DAP/as/APA