Government releases GH¢88m for 2nd-yr Free SHS students

The government has released GH¢88,056,438 for disbursement to all public senior high schools (SHSs) for the implementation of the free SHS programme for the 2019/2020 academic.

The amount will, however, cover only second-year students for the first semester.

The Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Prof. Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa, who made this known in an interview with the Daily Graphic yesterday, said already GHȻ61,669,394 had been released for the upkeep of third-year students for the first semester of the 2019/2020 academic year.

The third-year students have been in school since August 25, 2019 to enable them to prepare adequately for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

Prof. Opoku-Amankwa explained that the allocation for first-year students was available and would be released after the placement exercise was over to enable the GES management to determine how many students had been enrolled in the various schools.

Supply of uniforms

On supplies, he said the schools would continue to supply uniforms to first-year students, adding that each student would be entitled to two school uniforms.

“With regard to school cloths, schools will continue to supply all students. The government, through the Ministry of Education, has entered into an arrangement with Akosombo Textiles Ltd (ATL) to supply the materials for the school cloths to dressmakers of the schools,” Prof. Opoku-Amankwa said.

Textbooks

He said adequate textbooks had been made available to all the schools for use by all students and asked schools that did not have adequate supply of textbooks on the four core subjects to immediately draw the attention of their respective regional and district directors to that.

NAFCO

On feeding, Prof. Opoku-Amankwa explained that the principles underlying the concept of food supply by the National Food Buffer Stock Company Ltd (NAFCO) remained the same.

Speaking on the supply of food items to schools, the Public Affairs Manager of NAFCO, Mr Emmanuel J.K. Arthur, said: “We have no problem with the supply of food to the schools under the free SHS programme.”

He said NAFCO had made sure that food was in the schools, adding that there was nothing to be worried about.

“Even though we do not know the actual number of first-year students, we have made arrangements to ensure that there is enough food for them and the continuing students,” Mr Arthur stated.