Ghana’s FreeSHS in Circumspect: In a Forceful Defense of a Defining and Futuristic National Policy for Youth Development
The Universities can use a lot more money yet every year you the same people who agitate for fees to be charged and paid at SHS continue to pressure Parliament to force the universities to keep university fees unchanged. As a result, all the public universities are bankrupt. Why the hypocrisy? How can a university student pay 2400 GHS a year in fees and many still request for payment terms?
It’s important not to allow the boastfulness of a few loud mouths to destroy the lives of innocent citizens who need this policy as a lifeline. Human capital is vital. Ghanaians voted against the NPP in 2024 but not against FreeSHS. If there is a critical budget deficit for it, let us call for fundraising campaigns to help generate the short fall. It will not be right to allow the great many who got the chance to be denied again when fees are re-introduced now.
Did you know that until 2017, there were families outside of the former three northern regions of Ghana who changed the names of their children in order to benefit from free SHS in the northern territories? Investigate and you will find so many.
Let’s be watchful.
FreeSHS has to be funded even more and as a country, let’s deal with corruption and tax evasion that bankrupts the government. The high cost notwithstanding, the outcome of a well implemented FreeSHS system with all its social benefits could do magic for the country. Imagine we improve it to four years and strengthen professional skills development and competency aspects in the year 4. And also implement reinforcement learning strategies such as requiring the year 4 students to organize tutorials for their juniors. By the time they complete the 4 year -SHS they would be ready for the job market at entry levels. The long-term development dividends should be the main motivation and not the short-term problems with budget deficit. Budget deficit is caused by corruption and economic mismanagement by the Government.
On the issues of separating boarding and feeding aspects from free academic training:
I also bought into the separation of boarding from the tuition model until 2020. It looks like most of us don’t know the country we live in. I didn’t know the full extent either. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic we had to teach virtually in 2020. That is where we learned of the number of Ghanaians that didn’t live in proper housing that supports education. Most families are crammed into one room. For them boarding school is the first time they shower with clean water and sleep on a bed with foam. Doing the study will shock you.
The cost is high, and measures can be devised to lower the cost and improve quality and also use Ghana card and banking information to force people to declare their means. And limit free boarding to some. Until then decoupling boarding will retard the development of the country. With the best systems for measuring means, only a small percentage will come on top.
We can also use technology to solve it all at a fraction of the cost. 1. Digitize all learning materials by the best of teachers and lecturers. 2. Build robust computers with solar charging and AI powered tutor available 24/7. 3. Equipped with internet connectivity for schoolwork only. 4. Limit face-to-face to hands-on work, tutorials and tests only. 5. Organize parents and guardians to supervise home study. 6. Community SHS in every town. 7. Social Care should develop a host family system with the help of churches and charities for students from extremely remote areas. This will help students from remote communities that need to move close to towns. 8. Implement frequent and rigorous testing to drive learning.
This system will need a new kind of Ghanaian to achieve but it will be tough to make it work. You know how our people behave. The most practical is use the current system and introduce the digital system for those who can take to it and use the traditional model for the others. With a serious means testing to charge boarding fees for those who can afford to pay. In the meantime, more funding should be provided to continue to improve access and quality. For some people access alone does wonders in their lives ahead of quality.
Ghana is majority rural communities
Ghana is majority rural communities and even the urban dwellers live in poor accommodation. Day Schools cannot cover the majority of youth. People need to stop the needless comparison with North America. That is lazy thinking. Enough of the senseless and negative campaign against FreeSHS. We need to invest heavily in youth development and SHS level is the most pivotal.
Nations have borrowed 200% of GDP to fight needless wars and still try to justify it. Africa is the only continent that is experiencing the youth bulge. This means youth development will cost more than other sectors of the economy. Other countries have a majority aged population, so their dominant budget cost is health care for the aged. Which problem is better? Spending huge on old folks or spending huge on developing the youth?
Communities where day schools will be appropriate, let's do it by all means. But those in small communities scattered across remote rural and undeveloped areas boarding houses provide modern amenities to these youth for the first time in their lives. And prepares them for university. People should not argue as though the only part of Ghana that is important is Accra. It doesn’t look like a lot of arguing from their own educational experiences understand the education they were provided with. Education is an invitation to understand the world beyond one’s tiny direct life experiences. To think beyond one’s small and narrow horizon. There are thousands who live in tiny kiosks even in Accra. Every raining season all their belongings get destroyed and they have to begin life again.
Check the 2020 census.
Let’s be watchful.
Ghana must win the race of future economic progress with a robust youth development policy and the experiences of the past 8 years (2017-2024) supports an increased budget allocation.
