The E-Blocks commissioned by former President John Mahama are among the schools that will receive the first cohort of students to benefit from the government’s Free Senior High School program.
This is according to the Chairman of the Ghana Education Service Council, Mr. Michael Kenneth Nsowah.
Speaking on the Big Issue, he said the schools were computed into the list of Senior High Schools made available as options for Junior High School graduates to choose from for their placement.
The E-blocks were part of the former government’s Community Day Senior High School Project (CSHSP) which was proposed in 2012 to increase access to SHS and to decongest existing SHS.
200 new schools were to be built in underserved rural communities in the country.
Before the John Mahama government left office, about 40 of the schools were ready to admit fresh.
In the discussions around the new government’s flagship Free SHS program, many have wondered if the E-block constructed by the previous government will be used especially as the government while in opposition criticized the work by the former government.
Michael Kenneth Nsowah while responding to host, Umaru Sanda Amadu’s question on whether students will be admitted to the schools built by the previous administration he responded in the affirmative.
“Oh yes. They are all on the list. They gave us the number of students they can take and they are all there. These are day schools,” he said.
Some of the Community Day SHSs built last year have already admitted the first batch of students but the first batch of students under the Free SHS program will be admitted this year.
The government has said it will serve all day-students lunch as part of the Free SHS program, despite the lack of proper eating places for some schools but according to Mr. Nsowah, while government tries to resolve the issue, heads of the various schools can develop ingenious ways of ensuring there is a healthy and convenient place of eating for students who will receive the lunch pack from government.