Flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has asserted that the free Senior High School (SHS) policy has improved the quality of secondary education contrary to scepticism of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
According to the NPP flagbearer, the policy was criticised by the NDC for fear of reducing the quality of education.
However, Dr Bawumia says Ghana has recorded a significant increase in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) pass rate compared to the period before the free SHS.
In a stakeholder engagement at Okaikoi South, Dr Bawumia highlighted that Ghana achieved a 64% pass rate in 2023, up from 45% in 2016, marking the highest performance in Ghana’s WASSCE history.
He indicated that the policy has also led to the achievement of gender parity at the SHS level.
Dr Bawumia also announced plans to distribute computer tablets to all SHSs, replacing traditional chalkboards and enhancing teaching and learning.
“The introduction of free SHS has yielded remarkable results, with student performance significantly improving. Despite initial concerns that the policy would compromise the quality of Senior High Schools, the facts speak for themselves. In 2016, the WASSCE pass rate was 45%, but in 2023, we achieved an impressive 64%, the highest in the history of WASSCE exams.”
“Furthermore, the top three performing students in West Africa were all from Ghana, which shows that our standards have been improved. To enhance teaching and learning, we have also phased out the use of chalkboards and will be distributing computer tablets to all Senior High Schools across Ghana,” he stated.
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