Austin Gamey, a labor expert, has urged the government to examine one of its signature initiatives, Free SHS.
He believed that the Free SHS should exclusively serve the underprivileged while allowing the middle class to pay for their wards’ tuition.
Speaking on Asaase radio, Austin Gamey said that given the current state of the economy, it makes sense for the government to focus on helping those who are struggling to pay their fines.
“We are in a precarious position…
Therefore, he asked, “Should we target the Free Senior High School [education] the way it is, or should we keep it as is and allow those who are in the middle class or so to be able to pay for their children’s school fees?
He questioned, “Why do we have to pay for everyone? The labor expert continued, “Someone who is in the poverty range that we have data on should be targeted and government pay for them.”
The 2017 implementation of the Free SHS policy intends to remove the financial component that serves as a barrier to education.
With the double-track approach, the implementation of this strategy has boosted average SHS enrollment from roughly 800,000 in 2015 to 1.2 million in 2021.
Since its start, the Free SHS program has been funded by petroleum revenue from the Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA) and general government coffers/the Consolidated Fund.
The policy, however, has been plagued by budgetary difficulties and delays in the supply of food to schools