Free SHS policy has relieved burdens of parents – Akufo-Addo

President Nana Akufo-Addo has said his government’s introduction of the free Senior High School policy has relieved the burdens of parents, saying his government was on course to achieving target four of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“If we can, and it is eminently feasible, be in a situation whereby in 2030, we can say that all of Africa’s children are in school and having access to good quality education, the impact of that on the development of the continent and on the quality of life of the people will be enormous.”

“The free SHS policy has relieved the burdens of parents who had to spend lots of money to send their children to school, now that is over as government is paying for their fees and other things. As a Co-Chair of the UN SDG Advocacy Group, education is important to me that is why I have introduced the policy.’’

President Akufo-Addo said he was motivated to introduce the free SHS policy because some 10,000 Ghanaian youth drop out of the education system between Junior High School and SHS.

“Every year, 100,000 Ghana youth drop out of the education system between Junior High School and Senior High School because their parents could not afford the payment of their school fees,” he said.

He continued: “This year alone, with the instruction of the policy, the dropout rate has reduced from 100,000 to 36,000, and if it continues this way, we will get to our destination,’’ he said.

“So we are talking about taking these goals to a level that will enable all of us; society, government, state and non-state actors, to be able to measure the impact of the goals and their sustainability and realization,” the President added.