FREE SHS: VISIONARY POLICY, POORLY IMPLEMENTED.

FREE SHS:VISIONARY POLICY,POORLY IMPLEMENTED.

Dr. Kwame Nkrumah has been the first president that started the free education from the formerly elementary school getting through to the Secondary and the Technical schools to Universities. Most of the leaders we have in the country who were in the secondary school in the mid-1960s benefited from such free elementary and secondary school education. However, this education policy was overthrown together with Kwame Nkrumah government in the year 1971.
Since from the overthrow of Kwame Nkrumah, our education has passed through many hands of governments till the civilian government under the ex- President Rawlings in the year 1996 who implemented the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (fCUBE).
Ex-President Mahama also started some secondary education policy called the Progressively Free Secondary School Policy by building the E-Block school facilities and admitting a high number of students into the Teacher Training Institutions, Colleges of Education and the school of education at the University level.
Unfortunately, his government was voted out from power in 2016 general elections so his idea and vision to implement the progressively free secondary education came to a halt.
President Akufo-Addo when he was the presidential candidate for the NPP before the 2016 general elections made the Free SHS as his flagship political campaign message. Since the campaign message was social intervention programme, the citizens bought into the message and voted massively for him that made him emerge victorious in 2016 general elections.
 President Akufo-Addo is one of the courageous and visionary leaders to implement the Free SHS Policy to fulfill his promises made to Ghanaians before the 2016 elections.
However, the Free SHS Policy Implementation as a visionary policy, poorly implemented in a hasty manner and without proper consultation of stake holders.
In proportion to Chapter 5 Article 25(1) enunciated that “all persons shall have the right to equal educational opportunities and facilities, and with a view to achieve the full realization of that right;
(a) Basic education shall be free, compulsory and available to all;
(b) Secondary education in its different forms including technical and vocational education shall be made generally available and accessible to all by every appropriate means, and in particular, by the progressive introduction of free education”.
As it has been enunciated in Chapter 5 Article 25(1) of the 1992 constitutions of Ghana, free senior high education should be made accessible and available to every citizen of Ghana. It should not have been a campaign policy that would be implemented without the due diligence just to fulfill a campaign promise.
This policy should have been implemented by previous governments, but unfortunately it has not been so till the Akufo-Addo government came to power. This government should be lauded for his courageous and visionary for implementing such a social intervention policy.
However, the policy is poorly implemented, rushed, improperly planned and without proper consultation to various stakeholders.
 Parents, students, teachers and the entire populace were not well-educated on how the policy was going to be funded and implemented.
This government did not do due diligence by consulting educationists on how such a social intervention policy should be properly implemented for it run to be smooth and successful.
In accordance to the educational rights as it was elaborated in the Ghana constitution, the implementation should be done progressively. This means there should be enough facilities, teachers, and funding to make the implementation a successful one and not in rush and hasty as it was implemented.
There is always a saying “if you fail to plan, then you definitely plan to fail” but in the situation of this Free Senior High School Policy implementation, It will refer to it as if you fail to plan, you invite problems and difficulties to yourself.
Most of the senior high school on the double track system got congested even on the double track system. So if senior high schools get congested with students even on the double track systems then how it would have been if all the students placed in various schools have been admitted the same period.
Due to the lack of proper planning, the implementation was heavily confronted by inadequate classrooms, dormitories and various kinds of accommodations problems.
In most of the schools on the double track system, students sleep on verandas, under trees, classrooms, and canteens. Students struggle to get desks to sit on during class hours and forced to either sit in threes and fours on single desks.  Some are made to bring chairs from their houses.
A student who has absolutely no problem with hearing or speaking was strangely placed in a deaf, and dumb school. The parents had to fight for it to be changed. The only option provided for the young girl, and her parents is to be place her in a day school at Central Region meanwhile her parents reside in Kumasi. This means the parents need to rent a room for the 14 years old girl with its risks affiliated to it.
It got to a time that teachers do not know how the policy is going to be implemented and how the double track system is going to function. In an interview with a teacher(name withheld) teaching at the senior high school, said as at the time, he was speaking to me that school has resumed, he does not know whether he is on the gold or green track.
Now to the issue of students that will be churning from the senior high school as graduates and beneficiaries of the free senior high school, will they be equipped with the necessary knowledge that they supposed to gain at that level? Since now, they spend more time home than in school.
 Are we just looking out for the quantity or the quality?
The government should have invested hugely into educational infrastructure development  during his first year that will have helped accommodate all the students that has made progress from the junior high school to the senior high school and that will have prevented the double track system.
The government should have continued the E-Block infrastructure development started by his predecessor John Mahama that would have eased the infrastructure deficit that resulted to the double track system.
 Teacher training institutions and universities of education should have increase the intake of students that will come out as teachers at senior high school level.
The government did not educate the parents on how the policy would be implemented which made the parents difficult in enrolling their wards into various schools that they got admitted. Parents went through heinous stress before they were able to get their wards admitted to their various schools.
It will be appropriate for President Akufo-Addo government whenever they want to implement any social intervention policy, there should be diligence, proper planning, and copious consultation of various stakeholders and proper education of the citizens.
Government should make use of the Information Service Department (ISD) and the National Commission of Civic Education (NCCE) to educate the public and interpret their policies to the public whenever they want to implement any policy.
By Michael Kenetey Kofi, A Student of GIJ.