Most Reverend Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle has added his voice to the calls for a review of the free Senior High School (SHS) policy.
In spite of its benefits to parents, the Rev. Father believes a stakeholders engagement on the policy is needed in order to address the challenges associated with it and improve on its outcomes.
“I support 100%, the free SHS policy. [But] It is now time to have a stakeholder engagement to review the free SHS,” he said.
He made the remarks at the launch of a book titled, “Accra ACA, Bleoo, The History of the Accra Academy from James Town to Bubuashie.”
The 726-page book was written by Simon Ontoyin, a graduate of the University of Ghana and an alumnus of Accra Academy.
Mr. Ontoyin related that he was inspired to write the book because he realised there is not much information about the school on the internet.
Addressing the gathering, Reverend Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle acknowledged that even though the policy has been beneficial to parents whose wards enrolled onto the program, it can be rationalised to enhance Senior High School education in the country.
This adds up to the numerous calls for the policy to be reviewed.
Also at the event was the Deputy Education Minister and Member of Parliament for the Assin South Constituency, Rev. Ntim Fordjour, who was the keynote speaker.
On his part, Rev. Ntim Fordjour noted that the implementation of the policy requires collaboration from all stakeholders to overcome present challenges.
He added that global issues such as the Russia-Ukraine war have dealt a blow to many economies, and Ghana is no exception.
There have been suggestions for modifying the policy to ensure the quality of education as some say it is a huge burden on the country’s resources.
Ranging from the absence of limited infrastructure to a shortage of food and other setbacks, students enrolled on the programme are faced with a lot of inconveniences.
Barely a year after its implementation, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta said the policy should have targeted persons with genuine needs and not made to benefit everyone. He said people in his economic bracket should not be enjoying such a policy.