Nana Yaa Akyempim Jantuah, the General Secretary of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), criticized the government’s implementation of its flagship program, the Free Senior High School. According to her, there is no official document from bodies like the Ghana Statistical Service to determine the number of impoverished people in an area for effective targeting. Mrs. Jantuah emphasized that the government has incurred significant debt due to the Free SHS program and therefore advocated for a review of the policy.
This follows the West African Examinations Council’s (WAEC) statement that it might have to postpone the upcoming Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) due to financial constraints. According to the Director of Public Affairs at WAEC, John Kapi, the council needs about GH₵90 million to conduct the exams and pay its debt.
Speaking on the JoyNews AM show, Mrs Jantuah said, “There is the need for us to go back to the drawing table because there are no working documents on free SHS. It was a political promise that was given. It was just started and there was no target. I used to say that free SHS should be targeted at the people who need it, the real poor. Those who really are poor, so some work has to be done. So, the way we are implementing free SHS is like a lazy man’s approach.” The General Secretary of the CPP highlighted that exam malpractice is linked to a decline in the quality of education at the basic and secondary levels.
She emphasised that due to inadequate time spent with teachers, students often end up spending most of their time at home. “Three-quarters of the time, they are home, and they do not have face time with their teachers so if you go home and your parents are unable to find you extra classes then you are in trouble. Then you would cheat,” she noted.
