The Executive Director of Revenue Mobilisation Africa and a Fellow of Africa Education Watch, Geoffrey Kabutey, has argued that the failure to implement the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy within the country’s financial means has led to the challenges currently facing the policy.

He believes that the overall implementation, particularly the free boarding aspect, was not financially prudent.

Kabutey pointed out that even wealthy nations like the United States and the United Kingdom do not provide free boarding under their free secondary education policies.

The tax expert was responding to a question on whether the current government should consider scrapping the free boarding aspect of the policy.

"As a Fellow of Africa Education Watch and an advocate for education, I have always said that the United States and the United Kingdom—two far more developed countries—do not provide free boarding. Instead, they run a system where beneficiaries attend day schools closer to their homes. Students don’t have to travel far to attend school.

Why should a country that is not as wealthy as these two provide free boarding? That is not sustainable. We should have evaluated our financial strength and implemented the policy within our means. The government can cover tuition and other educational costs while parents bear the expenses of boarding and related costs," he explained.

Kabutey also proposed a gradual introduction of government-funded school buses to support students’ transportation needs.

"Over time, the government can introduce Ghana School Buses to provide free or subsidized transport services. However, when it comes to accommodation, the government should not be responsible. Feeding and boarding facilities account for a significant portion of the Free SHS budget.

"We can allow those who can afford it to pay for their boarding while the government invests in more E-Blocks to encourage students to attend local schools. But if you insist on attending a boarding school, you should be prepared to pay for it. This will ease the government’s financial burden," he added.

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