A finding released by Africa Education Watch (Eduwatch), an education think tank, has revealed that parents with wards in senior school spend more than the government per year, although secondary education is free.
The study, titled “A financial burden analysis of Ghana’s free senior high school policy,” was conducted with support from OXFAM to inform policy strengthening.
It disclosed that the average government spending per student under the free SHS policy between the 2017, 2018 and 2021, 2022 academic years was GH¢1,241, with parents spending GH¢ 4,185 per annum.
Between the 2017, the 2018 and 2021 and 2022 academic years, even though GHC 7.6 billion was allocated, only GH¢5.3 billion was expended on the Policy, averaging GH¢1.06 billion per annum, the report said.
The report further noted that the average government spending per student suggests that, as a result of the introduction of free SHS, government has absorbed about 23% of the cost of secondary education originally borne by parents prior to 2017, while parents still bear 77%.
It said the cost of the harmonised prospects released by the Ghana Education Service was GH¢2,100.
“In November 2023, the minimum cost of a GES harmonized SHS prospectus was GH¢2,100. While this represented a reduction compared to the previous academic year, some parents in the first and second wealth quintiles with average annual household expenditure of GH¢5,168 and GH¢8,250 respectively, may find it difficult to afford, bearing in mind that prospectus cost constitutes only 45% of the cost of enrolling in SHS.”
It has therefore outlined some recommendations for the government to consider in making the implementation of the policy better.
KEY RECOMMENDATIONS
- The Ministry of Education must target the free SHS policy to focus more on the needs of children from the poorest households using data from the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty programme as a point of entry.
- The Ministry of Finance must improve the disbursement of funds under the free SHS policy. The timely availability of funds (especially at the school level) to procure items that were previously ‘smuggled’ into prospectus, is critical to sustain compliance with the current moderate, harmonised prospectus.
Full report available here :
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
