The Executive Director of Revenue Mobilisation Africa and a Fellow of Africa Education Watch has argued that our failure to implement the free senior school policy within our financial means created the challenges confronting the policy.
Geoffrey Kabutey believed the entire implementation, particularly the free boarding aspect, was not financially prudent.
He indicated that even the United States and the United Kingdom, which are classified as wealthy nations, do not run free boarding under their free secondary education.
The tax expert was responding to a question on whether the current government should consider scrapping the free-boarding aspect of the policy.
‘’ As a Fellow with the African Education Watch and an advocate for education, I have always said that the United States and the United Kingdom, which are two wealthy countries, do not provide free boarding. The two countries that are far more developed than us are providing free day education. They run the policy in a way that allows beneficiaries to attend day schools that are closer to them. You don’t have to travel far from where you stay and attend school.
Why should you, a country that is not as wealthy as two countries, provide free boarding schools? That is not sustainable. We ought to have evaluated our financial strength and implemented the policy within our means. The government can pay for the tuition and other financial obligations, and then the parents can bear the cost of the boarding and its related costs.
He also proposed that “with time, the government can gradually introduce Ghana School buses to offer free or half-paid bus services, but in terms of where the students will sleep, it should be sponsored by the government. The feeding and boarding facilities account for a significant portion of the cost of free SHS. We can allow those who have the financial means to pay for their boarding. The government can invest in more E-Blocks to encourage students to attend local schools, but if you insist on attending boarding school, be prepared to pay for it. This will reduce the government’s financial burden”.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
