The Executive Director for the Ghana National Council of Private Schools (GNACOPS), Enock Gyatua has said the promise to include private schools in the free SHS programme is likely to influence the voting pattern of stakeholders in private education.

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has promised to expand the reach of the Free Senior High School programme to include private schools should it be re-elected in the December 6 polls.

Addressing Party faithful at the launch of the NDC’s manifesto at the University for Professional Studies in Accra, under the theme ‘People’s Manifesto: Jobs, Prosperity and more’, the flagbearer’s running mate, Prof Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang noted that the second-cycle schools in the private sector also need to be rolled into the national policy in the next NDC government.

“We plan to make the Free SHS more inclusive by expanding it to cover students in private senior high schools in under-served and deprived parts of the country,” she added.

Mr. Enock Gyatua, who said this while speaking on Atinka FM’s AM Drive with host Ekourba Gyasi, noted that although the association puts the education of the Ghanaian children first and is not politically affiliated to any party, this promise will influence the voting aspect of Ghana’s private education because the private school business has been through a lot of challenges with the introduction of the free SHS.

“Since the introduction of the Free SHS, we have availed ourselves to all political parties by presenting our petitions and issues to them. So if one of them has promised to include us in the Free SHS policy program, we accept it. We just hope it is implemented,” he added.