Accra, Ghana, November 19, 2019//-Professor George K.T Oduro, a Professor of Educational Leadership of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) has called on the government to limit the free Senior High School (SHS) education to only those who cannot pay.
According to him, under the financial constraints facing the implementation of the Free SHS, the across board implementation of the policy should be reviewed.
He made the call when he presented a paper at a public policy dialogue organized by the Progressive Intellectuals at the Commonwealth Hall of the University of Ghana.
In this light, Prof Oduro concurred with the July 2018 view expressed by the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, that “ the policy must target the vulnerable ones who lack the financial capacity and allow those with the means to pay for their children continue to pay fees”.
“If the spirit behind the Free SHS is to help poor citizens catch up with the rich in accessing quality education, then the target beneficiaries should be the poor in the society.
In that case, there would not be the need for double tracking and money would be saved from the rich to strengthen the capacity and enhance the quality of deprived schools for the benefit of poor students”, Prof Oduro, emphasized.
Exempt Boarding Schools from Free SHS
Exempt Boarding schools and concentrate on day schools. In his opinion, it is unfair that both students in boarding and those in day schools should benefit from free SHS at different levels of cost when parents of both day and boarding school students pay taxes.
This does not assure equity. Kenya, which has been the key reference point for justifying the Free SHS implementation never extended free education to boarding schools.
Neither did they adopt the double track system. Kenya’s is a Free Day Secondary Education (FDSE). Cost of boarding is borne by parents (Ohba, 2009, Mwiria 2014).
Double Track System
Prof Oduro stated that the Double Track System (DTS) has been a necessary evil for mitigating the effects of the poor pre-implementation planning of the free SHS.
The system has, however, made little impact on quality and equity components of the Free SHS, especially in disadvantaged rural schools, he observed.
“In managing the limited funds available for the Free SHS, we should focus more on the poor who cannot pay their children’s fees. This would ensure fairness and justice, which underpin equity”.
While acknowledging the DTS’ impact on student enrolment, they must remember that enrolment without equity and quality in terms of teaching and learning resource distribution, students’ access to qualified subject teachers, well equipped laboratories, well stocked libraries, delayed and inadequate supply of core and elective textbooks and other logistics necessary for facilitating teaching and learning, the future of deprived Free SHS schools in the country will be bleak and widen further the gap between the rich and the poor in the country.
This in many ways defeats the primary objective of free SHS as impoverished people are qualitatively disadvantaged, Prof Oduro added.
“Children from rich families whose parents could cope with the cost of extra classes (which ranges between GHC150 and GHC650) and provide other learning-related resources necessary for quality education have the advantage of being prepared to occupy and monopolise the socio-economic decision making processes in future, while poor children in deprived contexts who only go through the school system with little hope of tasting quality teaching and learning are more likely to operate at the periphery of decision making in the future”.
Indirect Shift of Cost to Parents
A critical analysis of the ‘FSHS’ implementation model also raises questions regarding the scope of FREENESS in the FSHS as implemented by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Government.
Contrary to the principle of ‘No Cost to Parents’ that has characterised Government’s pronouncements on the Free SHS policy, the implementation of the DTS has provided Government an opportunity to indirectly shift some costs associated with the Free SHS to parents.
Some capable parents of Gold Track students Prof Oduro spoke to, expressed discomfort with a system where their children will be home from June to November (5 months) so have been compelled to spend money on private classes to sustain the knowledge level of the child.
His investigation further reveals that now all supplies in year one: uniform, textbooks, note and exercise books, are one-off. In this sense, parents would have to bear the cost of supplies in subsequent years, where necessary. All these constitute year on year cost to parents and undermines the Government’s Free SHS principle.
“We are still experiencing the practice of having a ward placed in a day school in a different district and region”.
A headmaster lamented as follows: “The imposition of this choice comes with serious costs and moral implications especially for girls. Some as young as 13 years. A parent wept because we couldn’t help”.
Prof Oduro lamented: “As we enter the next academic year, one challenge which I anticipate at the tertiary education level is how to accommodate the increased number of applicants not only in terms of residential facilities but more importantly lecture theatres, libraries and science laboratories”.
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