Maintain free SHS regardless of which government is in power – Catholic Bishop appeals
The lack of continuity of projects and policies when a new government assume the reigns of power in the country has been bemoaned by the Catholic Bishop of the Koforidua Diocese, Most Rev Joseph Afrifa.
He called for a stop to that way of doing things in the country.
On the issue of the free senior high school (SHS) policy, he advised that the programme should remain no matter the government in place.
During an interview on Accra-based TV3 on Sunday, April 17, he said “We start a project, let us try to continue. I am happy President Akufo-Addo started this free Senior High School policy. This is a policy that we also need to assist for it to be successful in spite of the challenges that came up at the beginning but I think gradually they are trying to make it up,” he said.
He further appealed to the Education Ministry and the Ghana Education Service to address issues facing the feeding of pupils in the various schools.
“I also mention the buffer stock which is where the headmasters and headmistresses will get their supplies from the suppliers who have been designated. In the beginning, it was wonderful, you go to school and the students say they are eating eggs, fish, mackerels, but these days it looks like the situation is becoming more challenging for the heads.
“I think it is an area that we seriously have to look into, the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service so that we unearth the challenges that are causing this issue,” he said.
In 2017 President Akufo – Addo started the Free Senior High School policy in fulfilment of his campaign promise in 2016.
“Today, we throw open the doors of opportunity and hope to our young people… We have a sacred duty to our children and the generations beyond in ensuring that, irrespective of their circumstances, their right to education is preserved,” the President said to an ecstatic crowd at the West Africa Senior High School premises at Adenta.
He added “I want every Ghanaian child to attend secondary school not just for what they learn in books, but for the life experiences that they will gain. I want each of them to look in the mirror in the morning, every morning, and know that they can achieve anything they dream of when they complete their studies.
“I want them to be confident that what they study is relevant to the demands of today, and of tomorrow. I want every Ghanaian child to be comfortable in the knowledge that, when they work hard, they will be as capable as anyone else in the world. And I want parents to look upon their children with pride, as they watch them mature into self-confident adults,” the President said.
