Richard Ofori Agyeman Boadi
KUMASI MAYOR, Richard Ofori Agyeman Boadi, has called for a fresh look at the implementation of the Free Senior High School (SHS) social intervention policy.
He strongly argued that making the programme free to every Ghanaian school going child is not the best, stressing the need for the policy to be made to benefit only the poor.
The Mayor, who is nicknamed as ‘Zuba’, said some students are from rich homes and, therefore, should be omitted from the policy so the poor could be properly taken care of.
According to him, the recent open show of wealth by parents of some graduating SHS students clearly buttresses his argument that the rich should be omitted from the policy.
“How should a student who was schooled for free be gifted a Honda CRV, which is a vehicle worth over GH¢500,000 right after completing school by his/her parents or guardians?
“This clearly supports my strong conviction that not every Ghanaian school going student should be a beneficiary of the Free SHS programme,” Zuba said on Lawson TV in Kumasi.
He, therefore, proposed that there should be a national stakeholder meeting whereby the policy’s implementation can be reviewed.
“In my view, the schools should be graded so that if you enrol in the elite schools like Prempeh College, Achimota and other grade A schools, then you should pay school fees,” he added.
FROM I.F. Joe Awuah, Kumasi