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Heads of Private Second-Cycle Schools endorse NDC's manifesto to include private schools in Free SHS

"We are particularly glad that this was captured, as part of the manifesto promises of the NDC", the Conference of Heads of Private Second-Cycle Schools (CHOPSS) has said.

Prof Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has said it will expand the reach of the Free Senior High School programme if it secures victory in the December 7, 2020, general elections.

According to the running mate of the NDC, Prof Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, "We plan to make the Free SHS more inclusive by expanding it to cover students in private senior high schools in under-served and deprived parts of the country."

Speaking at the launch of the party' manifesto dubbed "The People' Manifesto": Jobs, Prosperity, and more', she said the party will broaden the scope for students of private schools, especially around hard-to-reach communities.

The Conference of Heads of Private Second-Cycle Schools in a statement said it believes the only way the problem of access to secondary education, which gave rise to the double-track system, can be solved.

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"We believe that a public-private partnership of this nature is a win-win for the Ghanaian government, Ghanaian children, and Ghanaian educational entrepreneurs.

"This policy will protect many of the 335 private senior high schools in Ghana and protect over 10,000 jobs in the private secondary educational sector," the statement added.

CHOPSS further said the NDC manifesto promise of including them in the Free SHS policy will further give more options to Ghanaian children as they can choose to attend a private school near them or a public school.

"Finally, it will reduce the pressure on the government in its attempt to build additional infrastructure in public schools".

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CHOPSS, therefore, called on the Akufo-Addo led government and all other political parties to commit to working with CHOPSS to ensure that private schools are not collapsed in Ghana but allowed to partner with the government to provide access and quality education to all Ghanaian children.

CHOPSS also rejected the suggestion that all private high schools that do not charge fees in dollars are substandard schools.

"We have private schools that have better facilities than public schools and that have over the years outperformed public schools.

"We also reject the attempt to suggest that it is unconstitutional for the government to partner with private schools to provide educational access to Ghanaian children.

"We believe that there are common grounds that are absolutely constitutional that can be reached to allow for partnerships with private senior high schools", CHOPSS noted.

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CHOPSS, therefore, called on the government and all other political parties to commit to working with CHOPSS to ensure that private schools are not collapsed in Ghana but allowed to partner with the government to provide access and quality education to all Ghanaian children.

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