Reviewing Ghana’s Free Education policy: A call for reform

I am writing this article to address a matter of great importance: the need for a critical review of Ghana’s free Senior High School (SHS) education policy. 

While the policy’s intent is laudable – to provide accessible education for all Ghanaian children – its implementation has been fraught with challenges that demand urgent attention.

Crisis in our boarding schools

Our current boarding school system is in crisis. Overcrowding, inadequate feeding programmes and a severe lack of basic amenities are the daily realities for many students.

Reports of students sleeping on the floor due to a shortage of beds and going hungry due to insufficient or poor-quality meals are deeply troubling.

These conditions are not conducive to learning and are detrimental to the well-being of our students.

Need for reform

We must ask ourselves: Is this the kind of educational environment we want for our children? Is this the best way to invest in their future? I believe the answer is a resounding NO!

The time has come to consider a fundamental shift in our approach. If we want to move forward in our educational endeavours, I propose that we dissolve the boarding school system as it currently exists and redirect the funds towards improving the quality of education and the daily lives of our students.

In this current situation, past students and parents tell their children that they should manage the system we have now and that people before them also passed through the same thing.

Fellow citizens, if we want to move forward, we must eradicate this mentality of managing what our forefathers had and strive to build better versions for our future leaders.

Let us move into the future with them and not send them back to the past, especially during this critical era of digitalisation.

New vision for free education

By dissolving the boarding school system; there will be a mass decline in the rural-urban migration of students in the pursuit of better education.

This will allow the government to redirect funds that were being used to support the broken boarding school system to renovate the schools in the rural areas.

The funds will also be redirected to construct roads that lead to the schools and develop a proper transport system for students.

Resources will also be invested in improving infrastructure and building more facilities, as well as providing educational materials for students and teachers: This would create a more conducive learning environment for all students.

Parents will not even need to spend hundreds or thousands of cedis to buy student mattresses, chop boxes and provisions for their children.

This is not merely a proposal to cut costs. It is a call to prioritise the needs of our students and ensure that the free education policy truly serves its purpose.

By shifting our focus from maintaining a struggling boarding system to providing essential support services, we can create a more equitable and effective education system for all Ghanaian children.

Initialisation of the review of the free education policy

After the 2024 election, President John Dramani Mahama promised to review the Free SHS policy and has currently appointed an eight-member team to organise the National Education Forum aimed at re-structuring the framework of our education system.

Thankfully, the education forum is this month and I strongly believe that the issue of boarding should be addressed.

Conclusion

Let us not shy away from difficult conversations. Let us not be afraid to challenge the status of our current broken systems.

The future of our nation depends on the education of our youth and we owe it to them to provide the best possible learning environment.

I urge you to join me in calling for a thorough review of the free education policy and a commitment to building a better future for our students.

— The writer is a student of the Istanbul Commerce University
Email: Alhakeemal123@gmail.com