Education Ministry: GES boss’s statement during the Free SHS evaluation was merely “drawing a comparison.”
Education Ministry: GES boss's statement during the Free SHS evaluation was merely "drawing a comparison."
Education Ministry: GES boss’s statement during the Free SHS evaluation was merely “drawing a comparison.”
When it comes to the execution of the Free Senior High School policy in the future, the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the Education Ministry seem to be on different pages.
In light of the nation’s present economic slump, in particular, the financing of the government’s flagship program has come under criticism.
Some senior high schools have voiced concerns about food shortages and a lack of funding for programs to operate smoothly.
In response to this, GES Director-General Prof. Kwasi Opoku Amankwah said that efforts are being made to examine the program.
He said that the goal of this exercise is to determine which costs the government may pass along to parents in order for them to bear.
“…we can do the investigation and then declare that, yes, Raymond will need to pay this amount for an excellent education. These are the goods included in that pricing.
He remarked on Upfront on Thursday, “Then we will all put it out there and say this thing, we can make do with it, and it will not impair quality, this item, I believe we can persuade parents to pay.”
Prof. Amankwah said that although the study is far from finished, a crucial element is focused on providing a pricing structure that assures quality.
The Education Ministry claims that it is not aware of any such conversation.
The Ministry’s spokesman, Kwasi Kwarteng, claims that no negotiations to this effect have taken place.
Today, Mr. Kwarteng stated that the GES Director-General was only using an example while making his claim during an appearance on JoyNews’ The Pulse.
The Director-General was making an analogy based on his own actions in his position as an individual. He never explicitly said that the Free SHS policy will be revisited, the man claimed on Friday.
In addition, Mr. Kwarteng believes that the circumstances in which he made the statement did not represent a comprehensive analysis.
He asserts that it is ultimately the Education Ministry’s obligation to make any adjustments to the social intervention program, and that department, he claims, has not given this idea any thought.
If you want to get specific, policy choices are generally made by the Executive—in this example, Dr. Yaw Adutwum, the Minister of Education—and the Ministry, which happens to be the President of the country. These are the only individuals who often have the authority to even announce policy choices, he said.
