Eduwatch hopeful of Free SHS review during IMF programme

Education think tank, Africa Education Watch, is hopeful of a review of the Free Secondary Education Policy after comments by the IMF’s Resident Representative to Ghana.

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According to the Executive Director of the think tank, Kofi Asare, the move will save the country a substantial amount of money.

In a Citi News interview, Mr. Asare says the government can invest the funds saved to improve infrastructure at the basic level.

“My expectation is that at the end of the IMF process, the government of Ghana should agree that we adopt a means testing approach where we are able to identify parents who can pay their fees and parents who cannot pay their fees so that those who can pay will be allowed to pay then we will save money,” he said.

Mr. Asare’s comments come after assurances by the IMF’s Resident Representative to Ghana, Dr Albert Touna-Mama, that the Free SHS policy will not be cancelled.

But Dr. Touna-Mama acknowledged concerns about the efficiency of the policy and said there need to be conversations about how to make it more sustainable.

Aside from infrastructure challenges over the course of its implementation, the Free SHS policy has struggled with feeding.

High schools are currently consenting to a shortage of food items because of funding and supply challenges.

These issues have led some schools to consider shutting down because they struggle to feed their students.

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Source: citinewsroom.com