Professor Stephen Adei has noted that, the flagship programme on education by the New Patriotic party (NPP) government, the Free Senior High School (SHS) does not need a legislation but a practical approach to see to its sustenance.
The professor, who is an astute Educationist posited that, the government does not need to enact any bill to see to the proper implementation of the Free SHS programme but rather, the implementation needs a practical approach to tackle the challenges that befalls it.
Professor Stephen Adei, who was the past rector for the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) said on PM Express on Joynews, “What they’ve done for the past several years has not been illegal; it’s been by government policy and is acceptable.”
The Free SHS has been in the news for some time following an intention by the Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo- Markin, and the Minister of Education, Dr. Yaw Osei-Adutwum, to lay a bill before parliament to protect the Free SHS bill for subsequent governments to follow.
In a recent interview, the Education Minister confirmed to the media that the Free SHS Bill, 2024, will be presented to Cabinet for debate this week.
The purpose of the bill is to give a legal backing to free and compulsory Senior High School (SHS) education coupled with several other changes to ensure that the quality in service delivery is achieved.
Also, some changes in the education system, which includes, the restructuring of Junior High School (JHS) and the cancellation of the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) as a prerequisite for SHS admission are contained in the proposed bill which is yet to be laid before the floor of Parliament.
The Education Minister stated, “What we need is a law that says there should be free, compulsory universal secondary education. This means the minimum education for the Ghanaian should be a Senior High School and not Junior High School,” he said, adding “it is our responsibility to provide the support for them”.
However, Professor Stephen Adei argues that the idea of having a legislation to support the education policy is laudable but added that there should be plans on refining the implementation.
He said, “There must be a reason why they want to bring in a law now”, adding that, “I’ve been in public service all my life until retirement, and this is a very weird way of doing policy”.
Source: Kobina Darlington/peacefmonline.com
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