CRISTAL BALL ON FREE SHS: TAILWINDS AND HEADWINDS By Gideon Odoba Amissah 2019 INTRODUCTION According to Robert Mugabe, “How do you convince the upcoming generation that education is the key to success when we are surrounded by poor graduates and rich criminals?” This quote proffers some fetters to the nexus between education and success. However, according to Kofi Annan, “Education is a human right with immense power to transform. On its foundation rest the cornertones of freedom, democracy, and sustainable human development.” Article 25(1)(b) of the 1992 Constitution provides that, “All persons shall have the right to equal educational opportunities and facilities and with a view to achieving the full realization of that right, 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”. Under the Directive Principles of State Policy of the Constitution, Article 38 (3)(a) provides one of the educational objectives of Ghana as, “The State shall, subject to the availability of resources, provide equal and balanced access to secondary and other appropriate pre-university education, equal access to university or equivalent education, with emphasis on science and technology.” According to the Coordinated Programme of Economic and Social Development Policies (2017- 2024), education is a key aspect of development. It is the vehicle through which knowledge, skills, attitudes, values and character are acquired to build the human capital necessary for socio- economic development. It is instructive to note from the foregoing that the importance of education as the best route to moving out of poverty and surge development could not be overemphasized. National policy priority to education would also afford the country the opportunity to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development 4, which is to the effect that, countries are to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all before 2030. Dr Kwame Nkrumah once said, “we shall measure our progress by …, the number of children in school, and by the quality of their education…” I believe it is with this view that the President at the launch of the free SHS noted that the cost of providing free secondary school education 1 would be cheaper than the cost of the alternative of an uneducated and unskilled workforce that had the capacity to retard development. BACKGROUND TO THE FREE SHS The Free SHS (Free Senior High School) policy is a Government of Ghana initiative introduced by the President Nana Akufo-Addo administration in September 2017. The program was officially launched on at the West Africa Senior High School same. The policy had been a major campaign policy prior to the election of President Akufo-Addo in 2016. The Free Senior High School programme is a flagship intervention by the Government to widen the gates of opportunities to every child, especially those whose talents are arrested because of poverty. The 2017 World Bank Human capital index Ghana ranked at 72 out of about 130 countries compared with Malaysia which is ranked at 33. According to the 2018 Human Development Index, Ghana is currently ranked 140 out of over 190 countries across the globe with Malaysia being ranked at 56. The comparison with Malaysia has become necessary owing to the fact we had our independence in the same year, 1957. It has been reported by UNICEF that about 63 million children are currently are out of school. It is estimated that close to 50 percent of JHS graduates who pass do not have access into SHS, due largely to lack of funds and accessibility. For instance, from 2013-2016, the percentage of pupils who were placed in SHS but did/could not access secondary education is about 27.3%. That is about 100,000 out of 400,000 pupils. Such reports should be of necessary concern to all well-meaning citizens of Ghana. Consequently, there is the need to deliberate on the free SHS program. The approach adopted by the author in discussing the topic is largely hinged on policy evaluation. This approach is deemed as apposite owing to the targeted audience. The scope of the presentation would basically touch on the headwinds and tailwinds of the free SHS program. The write-up also briefly looks at the basic and tertiary education policy reforms. The source of information is largely through the traditional media. GOVERNMENT’S POLICY ON EDUCATION According to the Coordinated Programme of Economic and Social Development Policies (2017- 2024), Government policies for education will focus on improving inclusive and equitable access to and participation in education at all levels; intensifying education in science, mathematics, and technology at all levels; raising the quality education at pre-tertiary level, with emphasis on mathematics and science; facilitating the implementation of the language policy; 2 strengthening the school management system; and ensuring sustainable sources of financing for education. Key strategies to be implemented to achieve these objectives will include: making secondary level the first terminal point of education by redefining basic education to include secondary education; undertaking curriculum reforms with emphasis on competency in reading, writing, arithmetic, creativity at primary level, and introduction to history of Ghana, French and optional Arabic language at pre-tertiary level; implementing free SHS to remove cost barriers at secondary school level, thereby expanding free and compulsory education to all Ghanaian children up to senior high school; ensure inclusive education for children with special needs. Other strategies will include; popularizing and demystifying the teaching and learning of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), and ICT education in basic and secondary education to include programming and robotics; revamping existing public TVET institution; implementing accelerated programs for teacher development and professionalism, and engage citizens who can think critically. Government has revealed it will reintroduce the issuance of national certificates aside the WASSCE, as part of the rolling out of new curriculum for basic schools. According to the Education Minister, Mathew Opoku Prempeh, the certificates will be a prerequisite for gaining employment in the country. BASIC SCHOOL REFORMS As stated supra, basic education is being redefined to include the senior high schools, hence the need to consider policy reforms in the sector. The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA) in collaboration with Ghana Education Service has introduced a new curricular. The new curriculum has been quality assured by Cambridge international. According to the National Pre-tertiary education frame work, the new curriculum would be a Standard Based Curriculum as against the previous Objective Based Curriculum. The difference is that new system assessment would be based on competence whist the previous system is based on knowledge. This appears as a reintroduction of a national assessment. The ministry is developing an assessment framework that will bring national assessment from primary 2, primary 4, primary 6, JHS 2 and SHS 2 that will lead ultimately to a national high school certificate. This system will reintroduce the history of the nation to the children, and make sure that the kids grasp our values as a nation from an early stage, know where we started, and where we are going. These same curricula, as it was prepared by Ghanaian experts, would change the face of education and imbibe some moral values and aid them to be critical thinkers in the country. With the introduction of the new curricular and national assessment system, it appears B.E.C.E would be scrapped within the next 3 to 5 years. About 152,000 teachers from Kg1 to primary 6 have been trained on the new curricular. Every teacher is to be provided with Teacher Resource Pack (TLMs). The challenge has been the unavailability of the textbooks and TLMs as school reopens. 3 It has been reported that the Capitation Grant has been increased to GH¢10. The school feeding program is also ongoing. School uniforms are being provided for the students. The government has introduced the teacher licensure examination. Although this scheme experience resistance from some newly trained teachers the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the National Teaching Council (NTC) insisted anyone who wanted to be hired by the GES after training must write. This is necessary. The government has justified a privatization plan of some public schools, insisting the public no longer trust government-run schools. Standards are believed to have fallen in publicly managed schools. The National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Teachers and Educational Workers Union (TEWU) and Coalition of Concerned Teachers said, this policy empowers the private operator to decide if it wants to work with Ghana Education Service (GES) staff including heads. This calls for stakeholder consultations. THE FREE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL To understand the concept of the free SHS policy one may have to consider some presentation from the President as the main proponent of the program. Below are some excerpts from the President during the launch of the policy in 2017 at the West African Senior High School. “Today, we throw open the doors of opportunity and hope to our young people… We have a sacred duty to our children and the generations beyond in ensuring that, irrespective of their circumstances, their right to education is preserved,” “I want every Ghanaian child to attend secondary school not just for what they learn in books, but for the life experiences that they will gain. I want each of them to look in the mirror in the morning, every morning, and know that they can achieve anything they dream of when they complete their studies. “I want them to be confident that what they study is relevant to the demands of today, and of tomorrow.