Vice-President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia says President Akufo-Addo’s greatest accomplishment is the successful implementation of the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) policy which has led to a 70 per cent increase in enrolment of secondary education.
According to him, the education policy, which was introduced in September 2017, has become an essential part of Ghana’s educational system, providing access, equity and equality to Ghanaian children.
Speaking on Asaase Radio on its Sunday Night Show, Dr. Bawumia said the Free SHS was part of the transformational agenda to address the lack of efficiency in access to education, quality of education, and education management, saying “there are many achievements. But the greatest one is the Free Senior High School Programme.
“If you look at what the nation needs, the nation needs human capital to develop and we were losing so many people. So many kids were dropping out of the system because their parents could not afford fees to take them to school and that was a price Ghana will be paying later on.
“You would see that you would be paying that price for these kids dropping out as they may get into all sorts of deviant behaviours or they are not going to be able to reach their potential and get jobs and all of that.
“So, we thought that this was a major issue facing the country and the President had that vision, which he articulated in the 2016 manifesto, having gone round the country.”
Tertiary Policy
The Vice-President said a similar problem existed at the tertiary education level where the gross enrolment rate was under 17 per cent, saying “if someone can’t go to SHS because of fees, what about university. You look at South Korea, it is 84 per cent.
“This is why we are bringing in the new tertiary students loan scheme in our second term. We will make loans available [to tertiary students] without the need for a guarantor.
“A lot of students who finish senior high school are not getting access into the universities. A lot of it has to do with lack of finance by the parents of these students.”
Dr. Bawumia said the new student loan scheme would cover both private and public tertiary students and all that a student would require is his or her “Ghana Card and have attained admission into a university.
“After you graduate with one year national service and grace period, and then you could pay, having a job to do,” he stated and revealed that the government had begun working with the Students Loan Trust Fund and the National Identification Authority to put the system in place for the takeoff.
Free Wi-Fi
“We have also embarked upon, almost completed, the provision of free Wi-Fi to 722 SHS. Today, there is a lot of knowledge on the internet. The old system of going to the library is a problem.
“Now, you can have access to so many materials and that can help bridge the gap. We are going to record lectures of the best teachers and make those lectures available online for the students. It will be on all topics,” the Vice President asserted.
He explained that this would enable any students wishing to find out “how a teacher in Achimota, for instance, has taught a subject; they can go on the internet and find it there. This is bridging the gap.”
He disclosed that the government was in the process of providing free Wi-Fi to 722 SHS, 46 Colleges of Education, and all the 216 District Offices across the country, noting that this project is almost completed.
“We have done 13 in tertiary institutions, including Legon, Cape Coast, KNUST, GIJ and so on,” he added and continued “we are going to do for all the public tertiary institutions, nursing and midwifery training schools.”
Vice-President Bawumia stated that this was a major part of improving education because “we are providing the students access to a body of knowledge that they may not ordinarily get within classroom context and bring that body of knowledge to bear.”
“Cost of data is a major barrier to accessing the internet in our country. Government has taken the decision to provide free Wi-Fi so that we reduce or eliminate that barrier for our students to get it,” he said.
By Ernest Kofi Adu