Private schools ready to partner for inclusion of free SHS

The Conference of Heads of Private Second-Cycle Schools (CHOPSS) has welcomed the government’s decision to include members in the free senior high school programme, effective the 2026-2027 academic year.

It said it had the facilities and was ready to start with the implementation of the programme.

The Head of Communications of CHOPSS, Naphtali Kyei-Baffour, said that in an interview with the Daily Graphic.

At a press briefing to announce the new guideline for the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) in Accra last Tuesday, the Deputy Minister of Education, Dr Clement Abas Apaak, announced that the government was going to include private schools in the free SHS programme.

Presser

The government, on May 27, 2025, announced plans to include private SHSs in the free SHS programme.

Speaking at a press briefing, Dr Apaak said the move was part of the government's long-term strategy to ease pressure on public schools and ultimately bring an end to the double-track system.

He noted that the inclusion of private institutions in the Free SHS programme had been on the policy agenda since the current administration assumed office and would now be implemented following extensive consultations.

“As part of our campaign promise, we have been working diligently to bring on board private senior high schools in the delivery of the Free SHS programme,” he stated.

“Meetings have been held, engagements have been done, and we are very certain that with the diligence we expect from our side and the eagerness of the private schools to participate, the private schools will deliver in their participation,” he said, adding: “We believe strongly that in fulfilling this manifesto campaign promise, this is going to serve as an artery in helping us bring an end to the double-track system.”

Dr Apaak explained that the decision aligns with the ruling party’s manifesto commitment to broaden access to secondary education.

He described it as a critical step towards resolving congestion in public schools and ensuring that every eligible student could gain admission without delay.

According to him, the ministry had received encouraging feedback from private schools, many of which have expressed readiness to meet the standards and requirements of the Free SHS framework.

Period

Mr Kyei-Baffour said because the period was short, private schools were not going to be part fully of the free SHS this academic year but only on a pilot basis.

“Per our engagement with them, we only wanted the opportunity to have a few schools on board as pilots, so that when they are on board and they pilot the system, we would be able to know some of the shortfalls by 2026, where they are ready to bring on board a lot of the schools who would have learned from the outcome of their piloting.

“We have done that engagement as well, and we have had that assurance from him that they may want to consider a few schools within the shortest possible time to be brought on board as piloting.

So going forward, we can now open the floodgates for all interested but qualified schools to be on board, and we think it's a welcoming news,” he emphasised.