Pulse Ghana is the most followed news and entertainment platform, informing and engaging young Ghanaians round the clock, providing updates by the hour.

Pulse Ghana

The&nbsp;Chairman of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), Professor Ato Essuman, has criticized the much-touted <a href="https://www.pulse.com.gh/news/local/review-free-shs-and-agenda-111-stephen-adei-to-govt/3pxydxl">Free Senior High School</a> policy.

Free SHS is useless unless it is linked with skills development — Prof. Ato Essuman | Pulse Ghana

Emmanuel Tornyi

According to him, free secondary education in Ghana will be meaningless unless it is accompanied by skill development for students.

He believes the policy, though, is laudable but providing students with the necessary skills for the world of work or further education is needed.

Speaking at the 2023 edition of Achimota Speaks at the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences on Thursday, March 30, 2023, on the theme "The Governance, Management, and Financing of Secondary Education in Ghana", Prof. Essuman said "The argument about free secondary education is about access and not enough about the content and the outcomes expected. Matters about skills development, teacher orientation, reorientation, and training and development as well as new pedagogical approaches are less stressed. Clearly, fair attention to all these is likely to produce students ready to transition either to the tertiary level or the world of work.

"The policy of making secondary education free and available to all is a lofty one but such a goal will be useless and needlessly expensive if all it does is to create opportunity and give young people access without the skills that will make them great assets for the nation development or otherwise, the problems would continue to compound."

He stated that the policy has deteriorated the Ghana educational system at the senior high level.

"Implementing free secondary education in Ghana may have been desirable if a gradualist approach and phased implementation of the program had been adopted. Learning from other countries’ experiences may have led to better management of the policy," he added.

Despite the numerous advantages of the free SHS policy, the already worsened economy is being stretched by the policy because the government has to allocate about GH¢7.5billion every year to the programme.

Already, some Ghanaians have called on the government to review the Free SHS programme to address the challenges facing it.

Free SHS is useless unless it is linked with skills development — Prof. Ato Essuman

Business

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Politics

Local

Filla

World

Football

Ghana Premier League

Black Stars

Celebrities

Music

Movies

Fashion

Beauty & Health

Relationships & Weddings

Food & Travel

Domestic

International 

Explore categories

The Pulse Influencer Awards has been set up to recognize and highlight bright lights in the influencer space in Africa who are building active engaged communities around their niche or craft.

Influencer Awards

Company Pages

Breaking News & Top Stories | Pulse Ghana

Video

Checkout our authors for the latest content across entertainment, sports, business and more. Be first to receive exclusive updates with your free subscription straight to your phone | Pulse Ghana

Authors | Pulse Ghana

| Pulse Ghana

Read the latest news across entertainment, sports, business and more. Be first to receive exclusive updates with your free subscription straight to your phone | Pulse Ghana

Search for the latest content across entertainment, sports, business and more. Be first to receive exclusive updates with your free subscription straight to your phone | Pulse Ghana

Search Results | Pulse Ghana

Watch the latest videos across entertainment, sports, business and more. Be first to receive exclusive updates with your free subscription straight to your phone | Pulse Ghana