Former president of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) and member of the NPP manifesto team on education, Dennis Appiah Larbi-Ampofo, has said that no parent has contributed to the Free Senior High School(SHS) Fund since it was set up in 2018.
The government proposed a voluntary education fund to support the implementation of the policy.
The finance minister at the time, Ken Ofori-Atta, said that the fund was created based on several public recommendations for establishing an education fund to receive voluntary contributions to support the policy’s implementation.
After nearly seven years of its implementation, the former NUGS president, speaking on Asaase Radio’s Press Pass on Wednesday (26 June), said, “I remember there were discussions about setting up a fund for parents willing to contribute to help.”
“Some parents expressed their willingness to donate, and we discussed creating an account for this purpose. For the record, there is an account at the Free SHS secretariat for this, and I can confidently confirm that nobody has donated to it,” Larbi Ampofo continued.
Who should pay for SHS education?
Dennis Appiah Larbi-Ampofo mentioned that there is insufficient data to determine who can or cannot afford senior high school education.
He expressed concerns that implementing a policy of having someone pay for education without proper data could harm the country.
There is not enough clear and robust data to define who should or should not pay for education.
The Free SHS bill
Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, the Minister of Education, is expected to present the Free Senior High School (SHS) Bill to Parliament for consideration and passage by the House.
Larbi-Ampofo said the bill, when passed, will not only clarify some modalities but also protect the operationalization of Free SHS.
Reporting by Gemma Appiah in Accra
Affiliates: Azay FM 89.1 (Takoradi), Bawku FM 101.5, Bead FM 99.9 (Bimbilla), Mining City Radio 89.5 (Tarkwa), Nyatefe Radio 94.5 (Dzodze), Somuaa FM 89.9 (Gushegu), Stone City 90.7 (Ho) and Wale FM 106.9 (Walewale).
Listen online: asaaseradio.com, Sound Garden and TuneIn.
Follow us:
X: @asaaseradio995, @Asaase985ksi, @Asaase997tamale, @asaase1003, asaasepa1073
Instagram: asaaseradio99.5, asaase985ksi, asaase100.3, asaase99.7tamale, asaasepa107.3
LinkedIn: company/asaaseradio995. TikTok: @asaaseradio99.5
Facebook: asaase99.5, asaase985ksi, Asaase100.3, asaase99.7, AsaasePa107.3.
YouTube: AsaaseXtra.
Join the conversation. Accra: call 020 000 9951/054 888 8995, WhatsApp 020 000 0995. Kumasi: call 059 415 7985 or call/WhatsApp 020 631 5260. Tamale: call/WhatsApp/SMS 053 554 6468. Cape Coast: call/WhatsApp 059 388 2652.
#AsaaseRadio
#AsaasePa
#TheVoiceofOurLand
