By Anthony Adongo Apubeo
Bolgatanga, Oct 02, GNA – The implementation of the Free Senior High School (FSHS) policy has increased enrolment from 800,000 in 2016 to 1.6 million in 2024, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has revealed.
Speaking to stakeholders during a thank-you visit to the Upper East Region in Bolgatanga, President Akufo-Addo said the social intervention had given more opportunities to vulnerable children to access secondary education who hitherto would have been denied due to poverty.
“For a decade, before I came into office, at least 100,000 young Ghanaians were unable to access Senior High education because their parents did not have the means to send them to school, even though they had the qualification to do so.
“There were 800,000 students in SHS when I came into office in 2017, today, the figure is double, 1.6 million and this means that many more people can move on from junior high level to senior high level,” he said.
According to President Akufo-Addo, the FSHS policy had not only widened access to education at the senior high school level and tertiary education but had significantly improved the quality of education in the country.
The President cited for instance that “in Mathematics, from 2021 to date, the pass rate had increased from 52 per cent to 61.9 per cent, English Language, the pass rate increased from 48 per cent to 59 per cent, Social Studies pass rate increased from 46 per cent to 55 per cent.
“In all of these, there have been remarkable improvements in quality of education and young people are being trained to face the problems of the 21st century.”
President Akufo-Addo attributed the achievement to the deliberate investment the government had made in the educational sector to expand infrastructure, train teachers and increase the professional development of teachers.
“There is still a long way to go, we are not there yet but we are making progress steadily,” he added.
President Akufo-Addo said although there were some people who questioned the huge investment in the FSHS at the beginning, he was convinced that the policy held the greatest potential to produce the needed human resources for sustainable development.
“There were some people who said the FSHS would not work and would not invest GH₵2 billion in free SHS and we have to wait another 20 years, but I could not understand that language because I could not think of any bigger priority of any nation than developing its human capital.
“So, I am saying to you that the commitment to improving education infrastructure and increasing enrolment under the FSHS is unconditional and we are determined to continue this way. We remain focused on ensuring that every school supports the growth of education,” he added.
The President thanked the stakeholders, including traditional and religious leaders, women and youth leaders, leadership and supporters of the New Patriotic Party among others, for the support over the last eight years of his administration.
GNA