Free SHS can’t be successful without teachers – King

Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the 16th Asantehene after the leadership of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) paid a courtesy call on him has said the Free Senior High School project can not be successful without teachers

In a brief address to the leadership of the teacher Union, His Majesty Otumfuo Osei Tutu II urged the central government to prioritize teachers in the country so they have a sound mind to teach the students well.

“If teachers in the country are not taken very good care of, how can the Nana Akufo-Addo-led government Free Senior High School (Free SHS) initiative become successful, teachers have to be taken care of,” Asantehene stated.

He similarly encouraged Ghanaian teachers to of their free will teach prospective students under the Senior High School program for them to become responsible citizens adding that God will bless teachers for their kind gestures.

Started in September 2017, the Free SHS is a policy of the government for every child in Ghana who qualifies for and is placed in a public Senior High School for his secondary education to have his/her fees absorbed by the government.

In line with Osei Tutu II, Prof Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa, the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service has said the Free SHS program is the only important project that must be embraced despite the challenges confronting it.

Speaking on Peace 104.3 FM’s Kokrooko show, he admitted the Free SHS has challenges but said is the responsibility of every citizen to help solve the problems citing that majority of the Ghanaians are benefiting from the policy.

“I have heard some people saying the Free SHS should be reviewed to address its challenges but Free SHS is the great thing the country has done and should be welcomed,” the Prof said in the interview monitored by AcademicWeek.

According to the Director-General, some of the challenges confronting the education sector are not a result of the implementation of the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) policy but are problems that have remained unsolved since.

“Not all the problems currently in the education sector are as a result of the Free SHS, some of them we came to meet,” the Education Service official told the host of the Accra-based Peace FM Kokrokoo show, Kwame Sefa Kayi.