We are resolving issues with Free SHS – President Akufo Addo

President Nana Akufo-Addo has acknowledged that there have been difficulties with the Free SHS Policy’s implementation.

Despite the difficulties, the president gave the assurance that the administration is working to resolve many of them and would do so in the future.

On Saturday, December 3, 2022, President Nana Akuffo Addo made this statement during an address at the Opoku Oware School (OWASS) 70th anniversary celebration in Kumasi.

The anniversary’s theme was “Seven Decades of Leadership Through Self-Discipline,” and Justice Steven Alan Brobbey, a former Supreme Court justice and former OWASS student, served as the event’s chair.

The Metropolitan Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Kumasi, His Grace Most Rev Gabriel Anokye, honored the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, as the Guest of Honor.

Old students (Akatakyie) from all over the world, past headmasters and employees, politicians, government officials, MPs, and members of the public were also drawn to the program.

Despite the difficulties, President Nana Akuffo Addo said he was quite proud of the strategy and the outcomes thus far.

“Six years on following the implementation of the Free SHS Policy, it has guaranteed a minimum of 1.3 million Ghanaian children, the highest such enrollment in our history, ” he said.

“Yes, there have been challenges associated with the policy which the government is addressing substantially many of them and there will be more in the course of time, such is the nature of social evolution ti the stage the challenges will be met,” he acknowledged.

In addressing the situation, the President assured that “in spite of the economic difficulties confronting the nation, government is devoted even more resources of the running of the SHS Policy.

“From the budget of GHC2.3 billion in 2022, 28.6% increase has been applied to this year’s budget for Free SHS Policy, ie GHC2.96 billion,”  Nana Akufo-Addo added.

The program’s chairperson, Justice Steven Alan Brobbey, a former Supreme Court justice and former student, exhorted the participants to maintain self-control.

He said it will help them attain academic success and contribute significantly to the growth of the country.

In his remarks, Rev. Fr. Stephen Owusu Sekyere, the headmaster of Opoku Oware School, praised the old students (Akatakyie) for giving up their resources to support the school financially and materially.

He also conveyed his appreciation to President Nana Akuffo Addo for providing classroom blocks to the institution.

But he pleaded with the president to finish the 21-classroom facility and construct a wall around it to prevent expansion.

Source: Ghanatodayonline.com