EduWatch demands strict oversight of private SHSs in Free SHS programme

Africa Education Watch (EduWatch) has called on the government to put in place a mechanism to ensure that private second-cycle schools included in the Free Senior High School policy do not impose any fees on parents whose wards are placed under the programme.

In a social media post sighted by GhanaEducation.org, the Executive Director of EduWatch, Kofi Asare, said the Education Ministry must enforce strict regulation or risk public apathy and eventual programme failure.

The Africa Education Watch (EduWatch), citing the principle of inclusion of the private Senior High Schools in the government flagship initiative, said it supports the piloting of Free SHS in private schools.

“This position is grounded in fairness: no student should be denied access to secondary education simply because there are no available spaces in public schools while private schools have vacancies.

However, Free SHS in private schools must not come at any additional cost to parents. In other words, parents of students placed in private SHS must bear the same financial burden as those in public schools — no more,” Kofi Asare noted.

Relatedly, the Ministry of Education (MoE) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Conference of Heads of Private Second Cycle Schools to officially extend the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) program to private Senior High Schools across the country.

According to Ghana National Council of Private Schools (GNACOPS), the agreement outlines the modalities for implementing the policy, marking a major step by the government to expand access to quality education and eliminate the double-track system in public schools.

The National Executive Director of GNACOPS, Mr Enoch Kwasi Gyetuah, commended the central government for recognizing the crucial role private schools play in Ghana’s education system.

The Private Schools Council Director noted that this partnership will strengthen collaboration between the public and private sectors, improving access and maintaining high standards across all schools.

On the part of the Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, he said the extension of Free Senior High School to private institutions is part of the government’s broader vision to ensure that every Ghanaian child, regardless of background, has access to quality secondary education.

The Education Minister and Member of Parliament for Tamale South constituency added that the move fulfills a key campaign promise and reflects the government’s commitment to inclusive education.

In other news, about 25,000 students have been placed into various private Senior High Schools across the country under the pilot phase of integrating the private second-cycle schools into the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) programme.

Speaking in an interview with Accra-based Citi FM, the National Private Schools Council Director said a total of 70 private second-cycle schools across all 16 regions of Ghana have been included in the initiative.

“We have integrated 70 private schools across the 16 regions in Ghana, and in totality, the vacancy that has been declared is 44,000,” the GNACOPS Director told the host of the Citi Eyewitness News.

He added, “But as we speak now, the government has been able to place 25,000 students in these schools. We are yet to complete the other schools for them to have the vacancies that they have declared.”