Head of the School of Performing Arts at the University of Ghana, Professor Kofi Agyekum, popularly called Opanyin Agyekum, has called on government to review its free Senior High School (SHS) policy.
The free SHS was implemented by the government to capture all Ghanaian school children in the education bracket and enhance quality education in the country.
Children from both rich and poor homes all equally benefit from the free SHS policy.
But Professor Kofi Agyekum feels this provision of ''free SHS for all'' is exerting financial pressure on the government and further thinks it is somehow an inequality to have both rich and poor parents enjoy from the free SHS.
To him, there are some rich families that can afford their children's school fees, hence don't have to benefit from the free SHS.
Opanyin Agyekum asserted that the free SHS should be for only the underprivileged or deprived families.
''There are some families that, when you tell them to pay their children's school fees, they can do it without a sweat. So, why make their children have free SHS?...I think the government is overdoing this free SHS'', he stated on Peace FM's ''Kokrokoo''.
Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana
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I think allowing or encouraging the rich to pay for their wards fees will not be the answer to economic challenges the economy faced. What need to be considered and implemented by Government via GES should be, most importantly, -set the grade for Free SHS qualification to Aggregrate 15 - support local investors businesses to train and absorb those with aggregate 16 & beyond - Audit other monies indirectly taken by schools from wards as brooms, washing powders etc from parents where such monies could have been converted to generate income and revenue for the economy - Rent school buidings to churches for special repairs and fees - leave out exercise books to parents to purchase. Rich will have no problem to pay SHS fees, that will serve as discriminately and would not instil discipline and hardwork expected from these future leaders.
Review means cancellation.
I disagree completely with Opanyin Agyekum on this one, First of all, what should be the criteria for identifying and segregating rich people from the poor? Secondly, rich people are also Ghanaians and need to benefit from any social programmes introduced in the country. If for nothing at all, rich people are tax payers and indeed pay much higher taxes. For what heavenly reason therefore should they be excluded from benefits generated from the taxes they pay? In the event that the rich person passes on, would there be systems for streaming his/her children back into the free SHS programme? In my view, any system or systems like the free SHS policy aimed at bringing us all up rather than leveling us all down below will be the systems I will go for
Why Prof? Who pays the bulk of taxes in this country? Why should the “Rich” be excluded? Who is “Rich”? anyway? Are you “rich” Prof. ?