The implementation of the Free Senior High School policy has saved and will continue to save the parents of beneficiary students thousands of Ghana cedis, according to Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia.
The Vice President of the Republic, who was speaking at the ongoing 4th National Policy Summit at Tamale on Monday 24th September, 2018 said apart from making senior high school education accessible to several thousand more Ghanaian children, the Free SHS policy also had financial benefits for parents.
“The President Akufo-Addo Government has eased the burden of hundreds of thousands of Ghanaians and invested in the future of our children.
“Apart from building a strong human capital for the future there are immediate cash benefits to the parents. In practical terms the parent of a first year Day SHS student is saving GHC 1,075.41. For a parent with a Day TVET student the saving is GHS1,175.41.
“For a parent with a boarding SHS student, you save GHS2,015.22, while a parent with a boarding TVET student saves GHS 2,115.22,” Vice President Bawumia explained.
“Over a 3 year period a parent with a boarding SHS student would have saved nearly GHS 5,534.43 (or about 55 million old cedis). The savings is about 110 million old cedis if you have 2 children going through the free SHS.
“If you are a small business person or a trader, this is substantial savings that can be invested in your business without having to take a loan from the bank.”
The Free SHS programme, Vice President Bawumia indicated, “is therefore not only helping to educate our children, but is also helping families to save and use that savings to invest in small businesses. Free SHS has really lifted a burden off the shoulder of parents.”
Introduced in the 2017/2018 academic year, the Free SHS policy has made it possible for the whole of Ghana to enjoy free Senior High School education, with free meals for both boarding and day students, free boarding accommodation and free textbooks.
The Free SHS in 2017 provided over 90,000 additional teenagers an opportunity to get senior high school education and improve their opportunities for work in the future.
In 2018, as a result of the innovative double track system, 181,000 more students who otherwise could not have access to secondary education have been accommodated. 96% of students have been placed so far, according to officials of the Ministry of Education.
Source: Presidency.gov.gh
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According to Bawumia and his colleagues, the NDC messed up the economy long ago so they tagged them incompetent. If the NPP who promised to fix things in 18 months are still blaming NDC for this failure then we have a problem. NPP knew what the situation was before making all those promises. If it has worsened, its only because they have added their incompetence to that of the previous government. Fix the economy Dr and stop praising yourself and blaming opposition. their story is over, we are reading yours now
I SHOCKED GIVE SOME PEOPLE WHEN YOU SAID THINGS ARE HARD. JUST 18 MONTHS OF FREE EDUCATION. LOOK AT THE MONEY NDC LOOTED. WHY WONT WE SUFFER. OR NPP ARE MAGICIANS. ***barred word*** N AKOMFIM MONEY. 800MILLION GHANA CEDI SHOULD HAVE DOME SOMETHING BETTER FOR GHANA OR DO WE WANT TO EXPERIENCE DUMSOR AGAIN RIGHT. WHAT AT ALL CAN NDC BOOST OF AS NPP DID NHIS N NOW FREE SHS APART FROM AKOMFIM FLEW TO BURKINA FASO N DUMSOR.
MR BAWUMIA LIVING IN GHANA IS BECOMING HARDER AND HARDER I SPENT GHC1800 TO BUY THINGS TO SEND MY CHILD TO SCHOOL THINGS ARE GETTING TOO ESPENSIVE UNDER NPP GOVERNMENT.DO MR BAWUMIA BUY THINGS IN GHANA WITH GHANA CEDI? THE POCKET IS ZERO NO MONEY
And you take the money back through high fuel costs and bad economy with food prices escalating huh?
In Accra, I kept hearing parents worrying about how to pay school fees anytime schools were about to be re-opened. At least I know of one employee of Controller and Accountant General's Department who openly told me his worry about how to get money to pay his child's SHS fees.
So you people now agree that your NDC has messed up the economy and you couldn't fix, so now Bawumia should fix it for you. Incompetent NDC! You know that party is always incompetent in government. Everybody, including yourself know that Mahama and his boys are so incompetent that when they hear the word, they feel that crying. That is your government's tag and you cannot place it Bawumia. Your families are enjoying the Free SHS and you are pretending.
Apart from the free you talk of, we need quality in our education. Free without quality is ***barred word***. You can imagine what this free education will churn out at the end of every year with its riple social and economic consequences (overrunning the so called savings)
MASTER STOP BLOWING YOUR HORN YOU EAT AND SLEEP AT THE EXPENSE OF POOR TAX PAYER WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU SAYING????????? GET YOUR PEOPLE ON THE GROUND AND YOU WILL KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON PLEASE STOP TALKING
Well done to Nana/Bawumia. There is more work to be done but so far so good. Stopping galamsey was the best thing to happen to Ghana. Free Shs, paperless ports, nabco and so many interventions in less than 2 years is impressive. Please ignore the Ndc armed robbers who came and looted our meager resources to buy fake banks, land cruisers for girlfriends and private jets for themselves.
Ohhhhh Mr. Incompetent Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia. please fix the economy and stop singing your own praises.