The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) has expressed strong opposition to the government’s decision to expand the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy to include private schools.
According to the government, the move is intended to broaden access to secondary education and help reduce overcrowding in public SHSs.
The announcement was made by the Deputy Minister for Education, Dr. Clement Apaak, on May 27 during the launch of revised school selection guidelines for Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) candidates.
Dr. Apaak noted that incorporating private schools into the Free SHS programme is part of a broader effort to increase educational capacity and gradually eliminate the double-track system.
“As part of our campaign promise, we’ve worked diligently to bring private senior high schools on board. Meetings and engagements have been held, and we are confident that with the commitment from both sides, private schools will deliver,” he said. “This step will also help us eliminate the double-track system.”
But GNAT’s General Secretary, Thomas Musah, has pushed back against the policy shift, cautioning that it may worsen the already strained resources in the public sector.
“We don’t want the situation where tomorrow the government will come and tell us that there are no resources to teach in the public schools, and so we are adding on to those that parents have to pay. Already we have been calling for parents who can pay fees to pay, or should be made to make some contributions.
“We have not yet been able to get all these things done. So, to be adding on to the already existing burden will be serious, and I have some difficulty with it,” he stated.
