The vice-president of IMANI Ghana, Kofi Bentil, has warned that the Free SHS policy which President Nana Akufo-Addo intends to start implementing from September may turn out to be a disaster.
His comment comes after the Adisadel College in Cape Coast indicated that it would reduce by 50% its regular admission intake in the 2017/2018 academic year.
Adisadel College reduced its intake from 920 students in the 2015/2016 academic year to 423 for the 2016/2017 academic year, a percent reduction of 54.
The school cited infrastructural challenges as the reason for its decision.
Others schools such as The Ghana National College, Academy of Christ The King, and the Wesley Girls High Schools have all reduced their admission intake citing a similar concern.
In a reaction on Facebook, Bentil said many more schools would follow because of pressure on their infrastructure and general lack of inputs for teaching and learning.
He said even if "Grade A" school were being compelled to reduce student intake due to poor infrastructure and lack human resource, then the situation could be worse at less-endowed schools.
The IMANI vice-president said the situation did not portend well for free SHS and that if the current trend continued, the programme would be in trouble.
He said brilliant students would not get good schools because of limited infrastructure while weak students would be thrown out of the system.
"No one should blame the heads of schools. Our leaders must deal with the weakness in JHS. That's the main problem. And then Use whatever money we have to improve infrastructure and capacity in our existing SHS," Bentil said.