Free SHS facing severe financing challenges – Minority

The Minority says the free senior high school programme is currently facing severe financial challenges.

The Ranking Member on the Education Committee of Parliament, Peter Nortsu Kotoe, says the financial challenges are becoming unbearable.

Addressing journalists in Accra, on July 17, 2024, Nortsu Kotoe, said, “Free SHS is a very laudable programme, it has provided access to secondary education for quite a large number of people who wouldn’t have had the opportunity, looking at the cost involved at that time.

“However, the programme is facing a lot of challenges and one of them has to do with Finance. As we speak now, the financial challenges are becoming too much and it’s going through the roof. I can say that the information available to me indicates that over GHC6 billion is being owed to companies, individuals and organisations in relation to Free SHS.

“This year, they launched the tablets for SHSs, because this is going to reduce the burden on the printing of textbooks. So, the idea is fine, we support it, when you look at the NDC 2020 manifesto, it’s there, we even added tertiary institutions.

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“You have asked somebody to supply GHC1.3 million tablets, to cover all students and you’re not paying for it. The man has gone for a loan which is at the cost of 37 million and you’re not paying… You have paid him less than 10%; how will the person pay the loan? As a minority, we’re concerned.

“If we do this, we’re killing businesses of individuals and companies in the country. So, there’s a need for us to intervene.”

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