- Former President John Mahama Advocates for Inclusion of Private Schools in Free SHS
- Collaboration with Private Schools to Benefit the Government and Alleviate Pressure on Pupils
Former President John Mahama has proposed the inclusion of private senior high schools in the Free SHS policy as part of a well-coordinated effort to improve education in Ghana.
He made this statement while on his Central regional tour, adding that the move would encourage proprietors of these schools to stay in business and employ many Ghanaians, hence lowering the country's unemployment rate.
Mr. Mahama believes that collaborating with private schools will benefit the government in providing infrastructure to stop the double-track system.
By utilizing the facilities of existing private schools, the pressure on pupils will be alleviated, making it easier for the government to achieve its goal of providing quality education for all Ghanaian children.
Many private secondary schools have seen a decline in admission since the introduction of the Free SHS policy in 2017.
Parents who would have opted for better quality tuition and services in private schools have had to gain admission for their wards in public schools to relieve them of any financial liability in the aftermath of the Free SHS policy.
The inclusion of private schools in the program would help to reduce this trend and offer parents the option of quality education for their children.
Prof. Richard Kofi Asiedu, the party's Central Regional Chairman, praised the inclusion of private schools in the Free SHS program.
According to him, private school owners will be able to work with the government to eliminate the double-track system and minimize the government's costs in terms of infrastructure and parent concerns.
“We have advised this government innumerable times about the need to include private secondary schools in the policy but they are adamant.
I'm happy John Mahama is thinking in our direction to save some of these schools that have collapsed or are on the verge of collapsing,” he said.
Mr. Mahama drew a parallel between the Free SHS policy and the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) which allowed private hospitals to be part of NHIS.
He lamented that the government could not afford to let private schools with excellent facilities go to waste when it could collaborate with them to improve education in the country.
“We cannot have a facility like this and let them go to waste. We can do it,” he said.
Source: Mckpage.com
