The Minister for Education Haruna Iddrisu is requesting a validation of beneficiary figures associated with the Free Senior High School (FSHS) policy under the previous government.
The newly sworn-in Minister has made the request on the ground of its relevance to the policy’s continuous implementation.
“One of the foremost issues requiring scrutiny is the statistical accuracy of how many Ghanaians have benefited from the Free SHS programme,” he said.
Haruna was speaking during his first visit to the Ministry of Education on Wednesday January 22, 2025.
Speaking on the education sector, the minister explained that his analysis disclosed an estimation of 3.9 million beneficiaries of the policy, as opposed to a 5.9 million figure per public and parliamentary records during the previous administration.
He explained that the discrepancies need to be addressed by validating the figures.
“I am not claiming that my figures are definitive, but the reported figure of 5.1 million appears misleading. My analysis of the data from 2017 to 2023 suggests that the actual number of beneficiaries does not exceed 3.9 million,” he explained.
Moreover, the minister indicated that a validation of the data would be critical to addressing pending challenges in the education sector, adding that there are also plans to consitute a plaform called National Education Conference to spearhead evaluation of the sector, while also focusing on introducing viable reforms.
Haruna’s request comes very shortly following his swearing-in by the president.
The government is seeking to continue the Free SHS programme started by the previous administration. Initially, there were fears that the programme would be discontinued once a new administration takes over. But the new president, John Dramani Mahama has assured the public that the policy would not be abandoned, as it is also backed by the constitution.
However, experts have acknowledged that there are several issues that need urgent solutions. Dilapidated builings, poor school feeding programme, insufficient budget and inadequate infrastructure stand out amongst numerous problems facing the sector.
The new minister is expected to hit the ground quickly, as these problems need immediate attention.
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