[ 2012-03-08 ]

Nana Addo’s Free SHS to cost $150m in first year of implementation
The much touted free Senior High School education
policy which appears to be rallying cry of the
opposition New Patriotic Party is estimated to
cost $150million in its first year of
implementation.

The amount is expected to swell to about $400
million in subsequent years after the policy has
been rolled out.

This was confirmed by former Deputy Finance
Minister Prof Gyan Baffour in an interview with
Joy News’ Dzifa Bampoh, Wednesday.

With tuition fee already taken by the current
education policy, Prof Baffour said the estimated
amount will be for payment of boarding and lodging
for the students as well as the expansion of
infrastructure in the various public schools
across the country.

By the policy, Basic Education will now be
extended to the SHS level and be made free.

This means graduates of the JHS level will
seamlessly proceed to the SHS, as its being done
from the primary level to the JHS level at the
moment.

The NPP flagbearer, Nana Akufo-Addo had played coy
in a recent BBC Hardtalk interview when the issue
of cost and sources of funding of the free SHS
policy came up, saying he would rather disclose
the implementation policy first to Ghanaians.

He was however categorical that part of the oil
revenue will be utilized in implementing the
policy.

In corroborating the assertion of the flagbearer,
Prof Gyan Baffuor said the free SHS policy is far
too possible a venture, notwithstanding the cost
implications.

He said apart from the oil revenue, the government
will depend on the judicious use of available
resources to fund the project.

He noted that with a clear prioritization, even
the current budget could afford to implement a
free SHS policy.

Instead of allocating monies for the payment of
judgement debts, he said a Nana Addo government
will rather channel those resources into the
funding of the policy.

According to him, the cost of funding education in
Ghana at the moment is 5 per cent of GDP,
estimating that under the free SHS policy, the
amount will be 5.6 per cent of GDP which should be
sustainable.

He said the policy will inure chiefly to the poor
people, especially in the rural areas to have
access to SHS education.

“The idea is to ensure that Ghanaians have
secondary education free and borne by the
government,” he said.

Meanwhile, former rector of the Ghana Institute of
Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) said
it is a “worthwhile goal to aim at free SHS
education in Ghana.”

Prof Stephen Addei debunked assertion that a free
SHS policy would lead to a decline in quality of
education.

He argued lack of proper administration and
supervision should be blamed for the decline and
not necessarily the cost of education.

He said for the 43 days on the average that
teachers are supposed to go to school, many do not
go to class and even when they do, they fail to do
what they have been paid to.

Prof Addei said free SHS must be decoupled from
the quality of education.

Source - MyjoyOnline

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