Source: newsthemegh.com
The government’s main Free SHS Senior High School (SHS) initiative, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), is not well targeted.
Fund asserts that although inadequately targeted, the Free SHS program, which pays the whole cost of secondary school, has contributed to an increase in attendance.
The most recent IMF country report on Ghana has information on this. The Fund revealed that Ghana spends close to 4% of its GDP on education, with strong enrolment numbers but subpar academic results.
The principal areas that the IMF identified as needing improvement in terms of education financing are the resources for elementary education, teacher preparation programs, and procedures for performance-based funding.
Since 2019, the Free SHS initiative has benefited from financial allocations totaling more over GH11.3 billion.
The administration showed its dedication in the 2023 budget by announcing that the Free SHS Program would continue to be implemented without hesitation.
It further stated that this year, the “government will continue with the implementation of the Programme and continue to facilitate access to various educational items,” with the “total number of beneficiaries currently standing at 1.3 million students for the 2021/22 academic year.”