Free SHS Has Not Compromised Quality of Education – Akufo-Addo
President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has emphasized that, the implementation of Free Senior High School (free SHS) policy has not compromised the quality of SHS education despite increase in enrollment.
He said this on Wednesday October 11, 2023 when Speaking at the 61st Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) in Accra
President Akufo-Addo revealed statistics to support his assertion that, the introduction of free SHS policy in 2017 led to substantial improvements in academic performance in West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE)
He stated, “The 2022 WASSCE results of the third batch of Akufo-Addo graduates show 60.39 percent of students recording A1 to C6 in English as opposed to 51.6% in 2016. 62.45 % recording A1 to C6 in Integrated Science in 2022 as opposed to 48.35 % in 2016 with the 2022 results being a slight regression from the 2021 pass rate of 65.7%. 61.39 percent recorded A1 to C6 in Mathematics as compared to 33.12% in 2016 and 71.51% recording A1 to C6 in social studies as compared to 54.5 % in 2016.”
Akufo-Addo further highlighted the impact of the free SHS policy, which was launched in September 2017, eight months after he assumed office. He stated that, his policy has saved approximately one million young students from dropping out of school at the Junior High School level due to financial constraints.
The President noted, “Access under the policy has grown from 830,000 when I took office to 1.4 million today, ensuring that we’ve been able to retain the annual 100,000 dropouts within the educational sector.”
He further acknowledged the impressive results seen in the WASSCE since the inception of the free SHS policy and expressed his gratitude to CHASS members for their contribution.
