Free SHS Has Progressed With Challenges – MP Asserts
Member of Parliament for Kintampo North and a Member of the Education Committee in Parliament, Hon. Joseph Kwame Kumah has asserted that, the Free Senior High School policy has seen a somewhat of progression since its implementation but comes along with a lot of challenges.
According to him, the policy has succeeded in the area of its capacity to give room for a number of Junior High School graduates. The Free SHS has made it possible for children coming from deprived homes to access senior high or second cycle education.
Speaking on Opemsuo Radio with Agudey on the Nkwantananso morning show, the Kintampo North MP said, despite the progression are a lot of challenges which must be approached with strategic measures.
He reiterated that it is about time the government has to revisit the policy, assess and evaluate it to discover how to deal with these challenges.
Hon. Joseph Kwame Kumah said, the government should organize an educational forum with educationists, parents and head teachers to dissect, discuss and find appropriate solutions to the challenges without political approach. From the political point of view, one would say it good whiles it is not, he said.
Hon. Joseph Kwame Kumah allegedly stated that, the feeding programme for the Senior High Schools has been assigned to party women organizers to discharge such duties which are not right. He said, these are the responsibilities of the Head teachers and the management of the school but has been approached with politics.
He emphasized that, this is not how Dr. Kwame Nkrumah went about the initiative when he begun it in the northern part of the country.
The MP reiterated that, it is wrong for the government to absolutely take the cost of the policy by making it entirely free. He explained that, wealthy parents should have been made to the responsibility of taking care of their wards whiles made free for deprived students.
He conveyed that, schools should also be encouraged to embark on farming (school gardens) to provide enough food for the schools which can help alleviate the government of the expenditure on food.
Source: Opemsuo.com/ Effah Mensah William
