Can Free SHS be totally free?

The need for education and the acquisition of basic skills for the socioeconomic empowerment of our nation in the 21st Century cannot be overemphasized.  The world is developing at a faster pace and if Ghana wants to keep up with the pace with which her contemporaries are moving, then we (government and citizens) must prioritize the provision of quality basic, secondary and tertiary education for all Ghanaian children. 

So one may like to know my stance on Free SHS. I am for it. And I know almost every Ghanaian, rich or poor, is for it. As a working parent, I am happy that I may not need to spend almost 50% of my hard earned cash to finance my children's secondary education. For that, I am grateful to the previous and current administrations for working seamlessly to make secondary education free. As parents, we would invest the monies meant for secondary education into other ventures which will help in funding the children's University education (unless University education is also made free....how I wish it happens in the nearest future!).

But can FREE SHS be absolutely FREE? Free admission, free PTA dues, free cost of educational trips to whichever part of the country the school desires to visit, free SRC dues, free anniversary clothes, free house jerseys, free laboratory coats, free breakfast and lunch for day students,  free breakfast,  lunch and supper for students in the boarding house, free medical bills, free school uniforms,  free exercise and textbooks, free internet service, free printing fees, free transportation to and from school, free equipment and tools for  technical and vocational schools, free reagents and appliances for Chemistry, Physics and Biology laboratories,  free beds and mattresses,  free fuel to power 'gen-sets' in the schools during dumsor, free sanitary pads for girls in the boarding house, free mosquito repellents, free toiletries,  free brooms, free mops and mop buckets, free cutlasses, free rakes, free hoes........you may continue this list.

So parents will not pay a dime for their ward's secondary education? Is it possible? Can that be sustained throughout Ghana without having any single negative impact on the smoothness of running our schools to provide the anticipated results? 

Government must be BOLD and  tell all parents that in its quest to provide FREE education, there may be some aspects of the free cost which parents will be made to bear! That's being honest with the reality on the ground. 

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Let me quickly serve notice that I am not a pessimist, but an open minded realistic-optimist! I want the best for Ghana and I pray President Nana Akufo Addo's government succeeds. The success of this government will undoubtedly inure to the benefit of every Ghanaian, including myself and my entire family and friends. But we need to understand what SECONDARY education or Free Education is about and we need to be open-minded in communicating the challenges and the other accompanying issues to all stakeholders to ensure that QUALITY is not compromised for quantity. Let's try as much as possible to be guided by QUALITY AND EQUITY in our attempt to make SHS free.

I take deep inspirations from the Press Release of the Pro Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast, Prof. George K.T. Oduro, with special reference to the following: "If the implementation of Free SHS is NOT INDEXED to QUALITY, then it will be free SHS for the sake of free SHS which could only satisfy a political agenda".

Let us look back and consider the level of commitment and urgency our previous governments, NPP 1 and NDC 1& 2, attached to the release of FEEDING GRANTS to the various SHSs in Ghana. The Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) had on numerous occasions chastised government for either delaying the release of FEEDING GRANTS or refusing to pay the expected amounts to the schools.  This led to the unexpected closure of many Boarding schools, especially in the three northern regions, where education has been free to a larger extent since independence. 

In its 2013-2014 report, the World Economic Forum ranked Ghana 46th out of 148 countries for educational system quality. The Guardian newspaper disclosed in April 2015 that 90% of Ghanaian children were enrolled in school and this figure is ahead of Nigeria and Pakistan at 64% and 72% respectively. 

Articles 25(1), 25(2), 38(1) and 38(2) of the 1992 Constitution have clear relevant provisions for the implementation of (free) Secondary Education in Ghana. So also, Goal 4 of the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 4) talks about "ensuring INCLUSIVE and QUALITY for all and promoting lifelong learning". It further states that "obtaining quality education is the foundation for improving people's lives and sustainable development".

In fact, there is the need to accept the fact that NO TWO Secondary Schools in Ghana are equal in in terms of the school's Culture/Climate, Supervision, Enrollment, Staff numbers, Infrastructure (Library,  Laboratories,  Staff Bungalows,  Transportation Services,  Classrooms,  Sports avenues, etc.). Because our secondary schools have some ubiquitously conspicuous differences in their operations, they have UNIQUE BUDGETS peculiar to the individual schools. Has the government taken that into consideration?

The Grade A SHSs have high and excellent pass rates because the Headmasters and their team put in a number of strategies in place to ensure an increase in contact hours between teachers and students. So it's not by name or magic that we have certain schools always performing better than others! Let's remind ourselves that WHAT WE PUT IN IS WHAT WE SHOULD EXPECT BACK; Garbage in Garbage out! 

Now, it's pertinent to state that the very essence of this article is to alert all stakeholders,  especially the Central Government and the Ministry of Education/Ghana Education Service to remain guided in their effort to roll out the Free SHS come September,  2017. This article is not aimed at discouraging anyone but it's only acting as a precautionary tool for implementers of the Free SHS policy. I believe the government must make the effort to do more consultations to fine tune the process and to make advance provisions for some of the anticipated challenges identified in this document. 

If all accompanying fees are scrapped,  how will Headmasters ensure that they continue to provide an enriched school curriculum which includes: co-curricula activities (Most Clubs like French Club, Science Club, Creative Writing,  etc come with dues), educational trips to museums and other important places of interest and learning,  entertainment (besides music, jams, video shows, some boarding schools hire outsiders to train the students to perform at weekend entertainments) and Science seminars and Career development workshops?

Currently, most SHS Heads run the schools with internally generated funds (IGFs) from PTA dues, admission fees, SRC dues and with very little support from government.  Headmasters, at least the visionary and transformative minded ones, do give teacher motivation packages for best teacher of the week or month,  weekend classes allowance, responsibility allowance for House Masters, Class Masters, Club Patrons, Sports and Athletics training personnel, etc. So besides school or tuition fees, if government makes every other cost free, will government be ready to FULLY FUND the unique budgets of the individual schools in a timely and efficient manner? How will that be done and how will it be sustained?

One of the good news flying in town about free SHS is the provision of food for day and boarding students. That's sweet to the ear. It's alleged that breakfast and lunch will be provided at NO COST to day students whereas breakfast,  lunch and supper, and may be some fresh fruits for desserts,  will be provided for all boarding students, and it's also at no cost to parents! Wow. That sounds good and refreshing, 'innit'? The question which comes to mind is, how easy is that going to be? Who will be preparing all that food for the GRADE B schools with very high student populations? Most schools are already struggling to adhere strictly to the teaching schedules or time tables because of the time "Boarders" spend at the canteen. If we are adding day students for breakfast and lunch, how are the schools with huge populations going to handle the looming pandemonium in the Dining Halls and Canteens, without allowing eating time to eat into classes time? 

On admissions to the Grade A schools, how will it be handled without breeding nepotism, cronyism and corruption? In Africa, we shy away from calling a spade by its original name. If ADMISSION to the Grade A schools is free and admission to BOARDING HOUSE becomes equally free, won't rich parents and POLITICIANS find techniques to lure and influence educational administrators to give preference to their wards? Headmasters will deny that it will happen but you and I know that it will start on the very day free SHS commences! So how does government plan to curtail, if not completely curb, the looming corruption which may be associated with admission to SHS, come September, 2017?

How does government intend to fulfill the budgetary needs of top notch schools like Bishop Herman College, WeyGeyHey, Adisadel College,  Prempeh College, OLA Girls, Mfantsipim School, St. James School and Presec Boys without plunging the fortunes of these quality educational institutions into some quagmire as a result of delays in releasing funds or as a result of cutting down the REALISTIC OPERATIONAL BUDGETS submitted by the Administrators of these Schools?

In the context of QUALITY and EQUITY, how does President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Billy Addo intend to ENSURE that all Grades B & C Secondary Schools in the country have the right infrastructure and qualified Staff to ensure quality pedagogy and thereby increasing their performance so that pressure is lifted on the struggle for admission into the Grade A Schools?

For Schools with high day student population, there have been instances where school buses or trucks are used in conveying day students to school. I may not be in the position to tell how such transport services are funded but I know for sure that those vehicles run on fuel. I know for a fact that some day students in less endowed Schools like Nkonya Secondary School, Okuapeman Secondary,  Yilo Krobo Secondary,  Chemu Secondary,  Mangoase Secondary,  Chereponi Sec-Tech, to mention a few, WALK between 5 and 10 km to school on a daily basis! Will government be ready to bear their transportation costs as well? Many students walk from Nkonya Asakyiri and Bumbula to Nkosec...........they sometimes spend up to 2-3 hours........... will their parents be made to understand that they ought to bear their transport costs or that will as well be taken care of by government?

If the Government will succeed with free SHS, the government must retake a second look at paying realistic salaries to the hard working graduate teachers and staff in our secondary schools! Their counterparts in the civil and public service earn double what these graduate teachers earn. If you extend the salary disparity to graduates in POLITICS, you will marvel at the huge gap. A single deputy minister's monthly salary can pay up to 10 graduate teachers! And sometimes, those in the classroom hold better degrees. And they are aware their salaries are far underpaid.  This phenomenon has largely resulted in teacher disengagement and low output. Let's remember the TEACHER is the agent of CHANGE in the School; the change could be positive or negative and a lot will rely on the teacher's condition of service!

Last but not the least, if Free SHS will run smoothly, the new Minister of Education must take the pains to develop a listening ear and build consensus with the relevant stakeholders. There's a perception, it may be misconstrued or a misconception, that he has a giant ego against a dwarfed experience in quality educational matters. If that is true, he must quickly take steps to erase the public's perception and listen to good counsel from the existing educational players. The educational sector has no room for unnecessary politicking; it's a sector that has a rich and vast collection of intellectuals- Professors, Ph.D. holders, Experienced Senior and Junior Researchers, Chartered Accountants, Medical Doctors, Engineers, Economists, Lawyers and many more! These group of people have seen all there is and any individual will succeed in managing them, it will require team work, humility and consensus building. 

FREE SHS must come.........but can it be totally free?

For God and Country

 

The writer has a Masters in Educational Administration and Management and he is a tried, tested and trusted professional educationalist besides his other corporate job experience.  He is a product of Bishop Herman College, St. Francis' Teacher's Training College, University of Cape Coast, University of Education, Winneba and a proud alumnus of GIMPA.

Simon Peter Kwadwo Attah-Cato

M.Ed, BSc. (Hons), FHEA, CTTC-UK, Certificate 'A', Teacher's Mentorship Certificate,  Diploma(Montessori Educ.- USA)