The Ministry of Education has revealed that government has acquired an additional $40 million from the World Bank to support the Free Senior High School, SHS, policy.
Education Minister, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh made this known in a speech at the 68th Speech and Prize Giving Day of St. Mary's Senior High School in Accra.
According to him, the money will be used to upgrade facilities in 75 Senior high schools across the country. He noted that the flagship free SHS policy had increased the number of students at Second cycle institutions, thus the need for government to improve infrastructure and provide facilities in these schools.
“Inevitably, the Free SHS policy means an increase in the number of children accessing high school education, for the simple reason that children, who would otherwise have stayed home because of the financial barriers to SHS education now have no reason to do so.
“This means that as a matter of priority, government has to focus on expanding the physical infrastructure in our SHS’s to accommodate the anticipated rise of student numbers in the coming years,†he said.
The minister assured that government is continuing with physical works in the existing Community Day schools and is also determined to resolve the problems associated with the policy.
“Government is determined to ensure that the Free SHS policy will not compromise quality in any way and was working hard to ensure that any challenges that we face are resolved as soon as possible.â€Â he said.