‘Free SHS implementation has had challenges but its impact can't be discounted’ — Serwaa Amihere

Ghanaian broadcaster Serwaa Amihere has shared the views he has gathered from Ghanaians concerning the impact of Free Senior High School on their lives.

The GHOne TV journalist who anchors the station's ‘Voters’ Connect show’ says from experience, many Ghanaians see free SHS as President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s biggest legacy.

She explained that majority of the people who intend to vote for the ruling New Patriotic Party in the upcoming polls cite the policy as their reason.

“I anchor GHONE TV’s “Voters’ connect” and my interactions with ordinary Ghanaians tells me “Free SHS” will be President Akufo-Addo’s biggest legacy.

"From market women to hawkers to commercial drivers, many voting NPP in 2024 cite “FreeSHS”.

“The implementation has had challenges but we can never discount the impact FreeSHS has had on many Ghanaian families,” she wrote in a post on X on Thursday, August 29.

Implementation of the programme began in September 2017 in public Senior High Schools and Technical/Vocational Institutions.

Importantly, any Ghanaian child placed in a public second-cycle institution through the Computerized School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) during the 2017 school placement process became entitled to benefit from the Free SHS initiative.

"The impact of the programme is evident. To date, a total of over GH¢ 9.9 billion has been spent on the programme and a cumulative total of 5.7 million young people have benefitted from this initiative, many of whom may not have had this opportunity," Finance Minister Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam said in his mid-year budget review presentation.