The government of Ghana has secured funding for 320, 488 day students to commence the free SHS programme, the Finance Minister Seth Terkper has revealed.

Presenting the 2016 budget and economic policy statement, Terkper stated that the country is on course to provide 200 Community High Schools.

According to Terkper, work has started on 123 schools which he said President John Mahama has started commissioning. He added that Mahama will commission the Volta University in the Volta region next week.

“In fulfilment of the Constitutional provision of making secondary education progressively free, His Excellency the President launched the Progressively Free Secondary Education Programme at Ekumfi Otuam.

“Government provided funding for the first term of 2015/16 academic year to absorb the examination, entertainment, library, SRC, sports, culture, science development, science and mathematics quiz, ICT and co-curricular fees for 320,488 day students in public senior high schools. This commitment will be sustained”.

President Mahama recently commissioned two community Senior High Schools in the Central and Western regions.

Terkper also stated a major policy initiative to allow failed JHS candidates to re-write their exams has been highly successful. Some 1,181 candidates who failed their BECE and re-wrote under the policy have been placed into various SHS institutions.

“The Ministry introduced a new policy to give opportunity to unsuccessful BECE candidates to re-sit the examinations. A total of 1,181 candidates took part in the maiden edition in March 2015 and were part of the 2015 placement into SHS and Technical institutes.”