The International Monetary Fund program won’t stop the free Senior High School (SHS) policy, according to Mr Yaw Osafo Maafo, Senior Advisor to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
According to him, the government’s investment in the free SHS will increase access to and the quality of STEM education, ensure that all students have literacy and numeracy skills by the time they reach grade 4, and provide opportunities for out-of-school children to access basic education.
The policy will also increase access to teacher training programs, improve learning outcomes across the board, and equip Ghanaian youth with 21st-century skills to increase their global competitiveness.
Speaking on the topic of “Re-assessing Educational Policies for Effective Service Delivery and National Transformation” during this year’s National Education Week celebration.
He claimed that since January 2017, the government’s significant investments in education have helped the nation’s human capital grow and develop.
The government has spent on average between 4.5 per cent to 4.6 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product and between 17.6 per cent to 24 per cent of its national budget on education between 2019 – 2020.
The share of government expenditure on education increased marginally from 73.4 per cent in 2019 to 74.0 per cent in 2020.
I reject as false the argument that our economy cannot support these programmes. The challenges we are witnessing in our economy are short-term and we cannot afford to sacrifice our common vision due to short-term economic pressures.
I must say that the debate should not be whether our public expenditure is too high or too low. The debate should be and must be whether or not these programmes contribute to the welfare of Ghanaians and are essential for our national transformation.
Mr Osafo Maafo
The number of students enrolled in the free SHS had increased from less than 900,000 in the 2016–17 academic year to more than 1.2 million in the 2020–21 academic year, he claimed, increasing access to secondary education.
The SHS Gross Enrolment Rate increased from 50% in the pre-free SHS year, 2016/17, to 95% in 2020/21.
Over the medium term, the transition rate from Junior High School 3 to SHS 1 increased from 78.2% in 2017/18 to more than 85% in 2020/21.
The celebration, according to Reverend John Ntim Fordjour, the deputy minister of education, aimed to evaluate the sector’s performance over the previous midterm period, examine how key policies and programs were implemented, and consider how the sector could use evidence-based policies and initiatives to enhance learning outcomes and management of education.
He stated that the Ministry would present some of the initiatives it had undertaken through an exhibition and provide participants with the chance to speak with Ministry and Agency representatives about the initiatives.
Mr Abdourahamane Diallo, the UNESCO Country Director for Ghana, applauded the government for implementing initiatives like the National Standardized Test and giving STEM education priority.
In order to ensure holistic learning outcomes, he urged the authorities to work together to address challenges in the educational sector.
Source – GNA