GNAT Calls For National Dialogue On Free SHS

The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) is calling for a national dialogue to consider the review of the Free Senior High School (SHS) Programme.

The Association said the review should include parent-teacher associations (PTAs), corporate entities as well as other stakeholders in order to sustain the Programme.

Speaking in an interview with TV3‘s Daniel Opoku on Monday, August 14, 2023, General Secretary of GNAT Thomas Musah Tanko said a dialogue of such nature will explore ways to fund the policy.

“What we are saying is that let us have that particular discussion, let us know how we fund it,” he noted.

“The way of funding it could include donation from old boys, PTA, we can have returns on investments, we can have special levy, let’s see whatever we could do.

“So, that particular dialogue will tell us how we intend to finance the Free SHS and that will help everybody so that we can be able to improve the quality of teaching and learning.”

For him, the current state of the Programme is having an adverse effect on basic education including kindergarten.

According Mr Musah Tanko, KG, primary and junior high school (JHS) seem to be suffocating from the attention given Free SHS.

“We will also make sure that the JHS, the primary and the KG is not sacrificed on the altar of the Free SHS otherwise we will be having a long way to go in our development.”

Free SHS was introduced in September, 2017.

The policy saw a rise in enrolment at the SHS level.

However, inadequate facilities at most schools led to the introduction of a shift system known as double track.

Currently, most schools are faced with food shortages and where there is food, quality has been poor.