Professor William Preprah believes the programme was set to encounter grave challenges since the modus operandi government employed from the onset was problematic.
Speaking on JoyNews, he said the government "making the Free SHS totally free, is where the problem comes in; free uniforms, free books, giving food which I think creates inequality."
Among the challenges confronting the free SHS programme that were mentioned are; lack of accommodation facilities resulting in students sleeping on the floor, congestion in classrooms, inconvenience relating to erratic schedules for the double-track system, poor quality of food served to students, little attention to the end of semester examinations and minimal contact hours.
According to Peprah, the provision of free uniforms, books, and meals may inadvertently create disparities among students.
He said the Free SHS programme can be reviewed without sacrificing quality if government off-loads some of the financial burdens onto parents emphasising that the system should strive for equality between day and boarding schools, as well as between students and boarders.
"We could have adopted an approach that would reduce the cost in a way that will equally benefit the day and boarding as well as the government.
"It did serve a purpose in a way to have equality for both the students and boarders because if you look at it, those who were in the boarding house were benefiting more than those in the day school.
"So can we try to eliminate some of the items? This will reduce the financial burden on the government," he explained.
He added that those in boarding schools tend to benefit more than their counterparts in day schools.