Charles Bissue, the former general secretary aspirant of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has supported calls for the government to review the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) programme.
Individuals and organisations including the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) have been calling for a review of the government flagship education programme to lessen the burden on the national coffers. “Maybe people are saying that Free SHS should be reviewed,” Bissue told Asaase News. “I am for it because every policy that you bring out, you need to review it.”
Meanwhile, John Kwakye, the director of research at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), has also called for the Free Senior High School (SHS) programme to be reviewed. Dr Kwakye argued that this could help lessen fiscal pressure on the government created by the country’s economic challenges.
“I am not against Free SHS because human capital creates fiscal capital … but if some people can afford its payment, then let them pay. Or we can even do cost-sharing,” the economist proposed on The Asaase Breakfast Show. He was speaking on Thursday (16 June).
“Why is the government taking care of all these responsibilities? Is it because it wants to be popular? The purse is not limitless,” Kwakye told Nhyira-Addo. He added: “It really makes no sense why the government is so adamant to pay [the fees of the wards of] parents who want to make the payment themselves.”
The IEA research director argued that the government should seriously consider reviewing Free SHS. “This government made so many promises in order to win power and now that it realises that their implementation is not easy … I really wish the government would take a second look at them,” Kwakye said.
