Johnnie Hughes, a well-known Ghanaian journalist and TV3 host of the famous series Johnnie's Bite, has revived national debate by questioning President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo's well publicized Free Senior High School (Free SHS) policy. Hughes offered historical data to indicate that Free Secondary Education is not a new project in Ghana, as is commonly assumed.

During his presentation, Hughes showed an aged 1963 edition of the Ghanaian Times newspaper, which had a strong headline reading, "Secondary Education is Free." He explained that Ghana's first president, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, implemented free secondary education as part of a larger objective for fair access to quality education. This initiative also provided many students with free tertiary education. Hughes underlined that this system paved the way for many Ghanaians, including President Nana Akufo-Addo, to benefit from a well-organized and accessible educational framework.

"This is the Ghanaian Times telling us that as far back as 1963, secondary education was free and extended even to university education for many," Hughes pointed out. "Nana Akufo-Addo personally benefited from this project, therefore when people claim he introduced free education, he should correct them. The truth is that secondary education was free well before his administration."

Hughes went on to criticize the current level of Free SHS under Nana Akufo-Addo's administration, claiming that it falls short of the quality offered during Nkrumah's tenure. He emphasized the superior structure, delivery, and outcomes of the 1963 system, comparing them with today's issues, such as overcrowded classrooms, insufficient teaching materials, and deteriorating academic standards.

While Hughes acknowledged the Free SHS policy's goal, he highlighted concerns about its implementation, which he regarded as inefficient and missing the required assistance to ensure quality education. "Nkrumah's free education policy didn't just aim to fill classrooms—it aimed to produce world-class students," he told me. "Today, we are sacrificing quality for quantity, and the students are paying the price."

Hughes finished by calling for a reevaluation of the program to address its systemic flaws and for the government to emphasize quality over access to guarantee that the Free SHS project accomplishes its goal.