The free
senior high school programme (SHS) and the technical and vocational education
training (TVET) is not under review, the Minister of Finance, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta
has said.
He added that the government
has so far spent GH¢5.3 billion on the programme and that those who have
benefited are about 1.26 million children across the country.
Mr Ofori-Atta told Parliament
during the mid year budget review presentation that the government would now
work to protect the gains chalked up under the programme.
He said the government was also aware of the challenges
facing the programme and was working to fix them.
Key among the measures, he
said was the transportation of foodstuffs from the hinterlands to the schools
to feed the students.
“Mr. Speaker, we have placed
human capital development at the core of our national transformation efforts
since 2017. We have invested GH¢5.3 billion to enable 1,261,495 Ghanaian
children access to secondary education under the Free SHS programme at the end
2021 to improve access to education,” he said.
He explained that out of the 571,892 registered JHS
candidates, 555,353, representing 97.1 per cent, were placed into SHS this year
(2022).
“This is significant. We are
aware of reported challenges in accessing and transporting food for students in
SHS and we are fixing it.
In response, we have engaged
stakeholders and devised a programme that ensures that schools will not be
disrupted and our students are well-fed.
“The government has also
recently completed 17 additional projects, including classroom blocks,
dormitories, staff bungalows and libraries as part of infrastructural expansion
in SHSs to deal with the record increases in student numbers,” the minister
said.
“Mr Speaker, we shall not compromise on President
Akufo-Addo’s commitment to giving all our children the opportunity to be
educated from kindergarten to university, without the ability to pay being a
hindrance.
“Free Secondary and TVET
education are not under review. We will continue to fund them and we will
continue to improve them,” he said.
Source:
Graphic.com.gh