Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh, Minister of Education has inaugurated a committee to advise and lead the implementation of the country’s free Senior High School (SHS).
The committee constituted representatives from the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Information, Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Scholarship Secretariat, Buffer Stock Company, Auditor General’s Department, Ghana Education Service Teachers Union and National Security.
He said the Ministry of Finance role was to facilitate the release of timely money while the Ministry of Food and Agriculture would liaise with the National School Feeding Programme to ensure food was available for the students.
Dr Opoku-Prempeh said the appointment of President Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo as the Co-Chair of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Advocates, behooves him to ensure that children have the rights to education.
The SDG advocates comprise 16 persons meant to support the UN Secretary-General in efforts to generate momentum and commitment towards achieving the SDGs by 2030.
The Minister charged the Committee members to play their roles since the success of the free SHS would be dependent on their relentless effort.
“There is no option to fail because if you fail, you fail Ghanaians and the poor children in need of education. You are expected to play a technical role and develop workable solution to ensure success of the programme,” he added.
The Minister was of the view that the free SHS programme should have a dedicated account for transparency and accountability as well as facilitate the release of funds in an efficient and effective process.
He called for the co-operation and collaboration of all, saying he would only listen and act on the report of the committee for onward direction.
The free SHS was part of the educational agenda of President Akufo-Addo and assured Ghanaians of government’s full implementation of the policy from September.
The implementation of the policy covers the full fees of students who attend public SHS in the country to ensure that Ghanaians who qualify for the programme are not burdened with financial challenges.
The committee members pledged their unflinching support to work assiduously to ensure the success of the programme.
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