President Akufo-Addo and Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia posing with the Free SHS Logo after the unveiling ceremony in Accra
President Akufo-Addo yesterday unveiled the logo for the much talked-about free Senior High School flagship programme, signaling its official launch and commencement in the next couple of weeks.
It is expected that some 1.7 million students between the ages of 15 and 17 would benefit from the programme with an anticipated GH¢3.6 billion yearly commitment.
The Free Senior High School policy starts from September 13, 2017 when schools reopen and fresh students admitted.
At a short ceremony at the Flagstaff House in Accra yesterday, President Akufo-Addo noted that western countries like the United States of America that opted to make high school education free have advanced tremendously as a result of that decision a century ago.
“I hope everyone would see the connection between that decision and where America is today in the world…I believe that if we understand that connection, we will all support this initiative,” he articulated.
“The day will come when all of us will recognize that this is an important initiative for this country,” he pointed out.
For him, the policy should not be seen as a political tool for scoring points.
Instead, he said it should be seen as a requisite tool for the development of the human resource of the country and an ability to empower and change the lives of many Ghanaians.
“If we understand this is important not because a political party has made it its mantra, and that the promise they made is being fulfilled, but that because it goes to the heart of what we need to do to get our country going,” President Akufo-Addo expressed.
That, he said, was because “our country is abundant with talents and creativity with people who have all kinds of contributions to make to the development of our society. What we need to do is to provide them the opportunity to express themselves…if that opportunity is provided we’ll see the transformation that all of us want to see in Ghana.”
Present were Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, Minister for Education and Member of Parliament (MP) for Manhyia South, Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh; his colleague Minister of State in-charge of Tertiary Education, Professor Kwesi Yankah; Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo Maafo; the Minister for Environment, Science Technology and Innovation, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng and former Education Minister under the erstwhile Kufuor-led New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration, Professor Dominic Fobih.
Logo
The design of the ‘Free SHS’ logo highlights an open book on which is suspended a sketch of two delighted school children leaping in jubilation.
Underneath the symbol are three words: Access, Equity and Quality boldly inscribed. The open book represents learning that generates hope and optimism for a prosperous Ghana.
The central symbol portrays two children emerging from a pleasurable learning experience, as they spontaneously explode in joy.
They are beneficiaries of a policy that lifts the total burden of fees from parents and wards.
The animated mood of the two children represents optimism for a brighter tomorrow.
The highlighted themes of Access, Equity and Quality underline the principles that drive the policy.
By Charles Takyi-Boadu, Presidential Correspondent