The Ghana National Association of Private Schools (GNAPS) has appealed to the Akufo-Addo-led government to include private second high schools in its free senior high school (SHS) policy.
The Association has warned that private SHS might run out of business which would subsequently lead to a closure of the schools should government implement its free SHS policy to benefit only public second cycle schools.
It is in this vein that the association deem it wise for government to ensure the free SHS policy which President Akufo-Addo announced would take off in September covers all second cycle schools in the country to safeguard the country’s educational sector.
The Ho Zonal Vice Chairperson of GNAPS, Bernice Atubra said this at the “2017 GNAPS Regional Week Celebrations” in the Volta Regional capital, Ho over the weekend.
She lamented that successive governments had always sidelined private schools in policies in the education sector citing the free school feeding and free uniform policies which were introduced by the erstwhile Mahama government.
“Private second cycle schools are going to be greatly affected if the free SHS policy comes in, where are the students going to come from now, they will all go to the free one”, she said.
She further added that “when this happens, proprietors who run private second cycle schools will be pushed out of business and staffs employed are also going to become unemployed, and we are depriving parents of the right to choose where and how to educate their children.
Mrs Atubra suggested that “some of these free policies should be made available to the private sector, so that persons who come to the private sector also benefit, if not hundred percent, at least some of the allocation so that they [private schools] are not pushed out of business.”
The Volta Regional Minister, Dr Archibald Letsa, who was the guest of honor stated that the Akufo-Addo-led government recognising the significant role private schools play in the country’s development would continue to support the sector to the benefit of the country.
He, however, implored GNAPS to dialogue with government towards a successful implementation of the free SHS policy to ensure it benefits both public and private schools.
