Some parents in the Ashanti Region have expressed growing frustration over the financial strain linked to the government’s Free Senior High School (SHS) policy, contending that the initiative falls short of being genuinely “free.” In interviews with Kumasi FM’s Elisha Adarkwah, several parents lamented the soaring costs of items required in the school prospectus, which they say contradict the government’s pledge of cost-free education.
One parent disclosed spending close to GHS 7,000 on supplies for a newly admitted SHS student, while another reported an expenditure of GHS 6,000 for similar items. Both described the experience as economically overwhelming. “The government says education is free, but when you add up the cost of the items, transportation, and other expenses, it’s too expensive for the average parent,” one of them lamented.
The parents appealed to the government and the Ministry of Education to review and regulate the prospectus lists, emphasising that the current costs place a heavy burden on families, especially those with more than one child in secondary school. They further urged authorities to ensure that the Free SHS programme lives up to its name by minimising costs that make education inaccessible to low-income households.
