Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II has praised the New Patriotic Party (NPP)’s flagship program Free Senior High School (SHS).
The Monarch of the Ashanti Kingdom said the free SHS programme is the most audacious piece of social intervention in our Fourth Republic since it has made access to education easy.
“There is no doubt that the free Senior High School programme is the most audacious piece of social intervention in our Fourth Republic. The pre-independence programme for free education covers primary and later the University. The secondary sector was beyond the capacity of the state. None of the reforms since had dared to address that phase, the decision to implement this plan had to be truly ambitious, and it is no wonder it has kept education at the top of national discourse.” Asantehene said.
He said this when speaking at the University of Cape Coast (UCC) on Thursday, September 5, 2024.
Asantehene was conferred honorary doctorate for his significant contributions to nation-building, peace, and development.
The king urged the government to upgarde the basic education to ensure the sustainability of the free SHS Programme.
“There is undoubted merit in the government’s argument that if we are preparing our children to compete in the global economy today, then they should be entitled to the same level of basic education as children in other climates. Since basic education elsewhere encompasses secondary or high school, it is only that we also upgrade our basic education.” He said.
Adding that “In that sense, therefore, offering free Senior High School is doing no more than meeting the obligations to provide basic education for all. It is not only in Ghana that the free SHS has become relevant.”
Free SHS policy was introduced by president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo led NPP government.
The flagship programme of the ruling government faced several praise and criticism but the government remains committed to ensure that the policy is sustained.
Source: Elvisanokyenews.com
