The Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) and the Ghana Union of Traders’ Associations (GUTA) have called on the government to review some of its major flagship policies immediately, including the Free Senior High School programme.
Talking to Kwaku Nhyira-Addo on The Asaase Breakfast Show on Friday (1 July 2022), the president of GUTA, Dr Joseph Obeng, said the move has been made crucial by the challenging economic situation in Ghana.
“I think that we need to review many a policy. Not only to Free SHS … all other policies must be reviewed to suit the needs of these difficult times,” Dr Obeng said. “The government must be bold.”
Speaking on the same programme, the president of the AGI, Humphrey Ayim-Darke, said reviewing policies like the Free SHS could help the government make some adjustments.
“Free SHS is a noble objective, but we must let the data and facts talk as to its sustainability … if it is not sustainable then how do we tweak it to make it so?” he asked.
Allow rich parents to pay for fees under Free SHS
Earlier this year John Kwakye, the director of research at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), said the Free Senior High School (SHS) programme must be reviewed to allow rich parents to pay for their wards’ fees.
Dr Kwakye argued that this could help ease fiscal pressure on the government and give it more room to tackle the economic challenges facing Ghana.
“I am not against Free SHS because human capital creates fiscal capital … but if some people can afford payment, then let them pay, or we can even do cost-sharing,” the economist said on The Asaase Breakfast Show on 16 June.
“It really makes no sense why the government is so adamant to pay [the fees of children of] parents who want to make the payment themselves,” Kwakye said.
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