Child Rights International has strongly cautioned against plans to shift students' food expenses to parents under the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) policy.

The group stressed the need to maintain the integrity of the Free SHS program in a statement dated January 11, 2025, characterizing it as a game-changing effort that has greatly increased access to education in Ghana since its inception in 2017.

Suggestions that parents should be responsible for supporting their children in senior high school with food and necessary materials were firmly rejected in the statement.

The Free SHS program was created to remove financial barriers to school and guarantee inclusion for all Ghanaian children, according to Child Rights International, whose core ideals are undercut by such ideas.

As a groundbreaking social initiative, the Free SHS program has been hailed from its start. It has made it possible for millions of students, particularly those from underprivileged families and underserved communities, to receive secondary education by paying for tuition, food, housing, and other related expenses.



In rural areas, where the exorbitant cost of education formerly prohibited many families from sending their children to school, the policy's effects have been most noticeable. It has helped raise literacy levels, lower dropout rates, and increase enrollment rates nationwide.




But there have been a lot of obstacles to the program, such packed classrooms, slow funding distribution, and logistical problems, especially with food. Public discussions concerning the long-term viability of the policy have been triggered by these difficulties.



Any program changes must concentrate on resolving the program's issues without undermining the fundamental advantages that provide education to all Ghanaian children, according to a statement from Child Rights International.