The Vice President of the Republic of Ghana, His Excellency Alhaji Dr Bawumia has indicated that the government is struggling with the Implementation of the Free Senior High School Policy.
Speaking at a lecture held at the University of Cape Coast on Wednesday, Dr. Bawumia admitted that while education is free in some countries around the world, Ghana is struggling with Free SHS.
Dr. Bawumia’s submission of the difficulties faced by government in the implementation of the Free Senior High School policy may not come as a surprise after the challenges that surfaced from the onset of the Placement of students, accommodation and unavailability of classroom facilities to contain all admitted students.
Government launched the Free SHS policy implementation on September 12 2017,which many critics believed was a hasty decision by government to fulfill his manifesto promise.
The program whose Ambassadorial endorsement came under heavy criticism has been had been criticized for not having any specific blue print or implementation manual.
The Free Senior High School policy implementation has also been criticized for not been piloted before been rolled out .
The program also saw the dismissal and interdiction of some Headmasters who were allegedly engaged in extorting monies from beneficiaries.
Speaking on the topic,“Developing Stronger Economies for Africa,” the vice President indicated that the missing link in Ghana is productivity and inclusiveness, and that the digitization and the Free SHS are what the government is using to fix the problem.
Speaking on the contrary Prof. Samuel Kobina Anim, an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Cape Coast, blamed the government for not listening but rather speeding on the wheels of propaganda to roll out programs.
For instance, a program as crucial as Free SHS had not been piloted!
Prof. Anim also blamed Dr. Bawumia for not comparing figures, even though he is an economist, saying the Vice President also failed to provide real policy alternatives.
Prof. Anim also told Dr. Bawumia that his views on economics are not acceptable.
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