Over 1 million students enrol in free SHS — Dr. Adutwum

Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, Minister of Education, says the government has made positive strides in Senior High School education, enrolling 1.4 million students from over 800,000 students in 2017.

The initiative, he stated, led to improvements in the West African Senior Secondary Examinations test scores, of which the average performance improved from 38.73 per cent in 2006 to 69.73 per cent in 2023.

The government has enrolled 505,489 SHS and TVET students for the 2023 academic year.

The Minister said this at a programme dubbed “The Free SHS Story” on the theme, “Free SHS Shaping Minds and Changing Lives.”

The Minister said the highest beneficiaries of the free SHS policy were from the five Northern regions.

He said the government would continue to work hard to consolidate the gains made in the educational space for future generations.

Dr Adutwum reaffirmed the government’s commitment to improving education, saying, “Education must change the socio-economic fortunes of the nation.”

That, the Minister stated, was anchored on three key values; access, equity, and quality education.

“It is the desire of the government to ensure that no student is left behind in attaining universal access to quality education,” he said.

The Minister said the government had made investments in the sector, including retooling schools like Kumasi High School, Aflao Community SHS with modern educational facilities to improve learning outcomes.

“We have selected 12 SHS schools to offer aviation and aerospace courses to increase STEM education in the country,” he said.

He said the construction of Accra STEM School was ongoing to provide quality education to students, ensuring the commissioning of the facility before the end of the year.

“We are transforming our schools to be fit for purpose and enhance teaching and learning,” he added.

The government, he said, had started constructing middle Junior High Schools (JHS) and community schools from kindergarten to the JHS level with science laboratories and equipment.

He commended the efforts and resilience of the staff of agencies under the Ministry for playing a crucial role in the advancement of education.

Nana Baffour Awuah, Director, Pre-Tertiary Education, re-echoed the government’s commitment to building the foundation of excellence for sustained development.

Mr William Darkwah, National Coordinator, Free SHS Secretariat, called on all to support the equipping the students with the needed skills to succeed in the 21st century.

The Ministry supported winners of the “stenovation competition” to travel to Japan to participate in an international STEM competition, engage their student counterparts in Japan, share and learn new ideas and skills.

GNA