NAPO: The Introduction Of Free SHS Has Not Diminished The Quality Of Education

Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, known simply as NAPO, has dismissed claims that the Free Senior High School policy compromised quality education in the country. According to NAPO, the policy has achieved remarkable success.

He made this statement at an event at the University of Memphis, USA, on Friday, October 19, 2024. He is the running mate of the New Patriotic Party for the forthcoming elections.

The former Minister of Education, NAPO, while introducing the policy in 2017, emphasized that the Free SHS policy has been instrumental in allowing thousands of poor students to access education. He referred to the fact that indeed, the program had increased access to education and simultaneously improved performance. According to NAPO, from 2015 to 2023, there was a significant improvement in core subject performance, with more than 60% of students achieving the required grades for tertiary admission in the 2022 and 2023 academic years. The improvements recorded in core subject performances, he said, were the best in nine years.

NAPO went further to say that some of the equity measures of the policy had some effects of bridging the gap in education, for example, 30 percent reservation of places in top schools for children from public basic schools. Removing the financial barriers also allowed the less privileged to highlight and showcase their skills, especially in elite schools.

He also spoke to gender parity, arguing that the Free SHS had managed to strike a balance between the number of male and female students in schools. This, he said, was entrenching the policy more as a tool for national development.

NAPO concluded that the Free SHS policy remained an integral investment in Ghana's future, shaping a well-educated and skilled workforce to drive home the country's growth.