Teacher Unions calls for suspension of Free Senior High School Bill
The National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) citing the potential negative impact of the Free Senior High School bill on the education sector has renewed its call for Parliament to suspend the Free SHS bill when it is presented on Monday, December 16 2024.
Addressing a section of the media ahead of the parliamentary sitting, NAGRAT President Angel Carbonu stressed that the bill, in its current form, could lead to unforeseen consequences for the future of education in the country.
The pre-tertiary teacher union emphasized that a thorough review and proper consultation were needed before any further action was taken on the controversial Free Senior High School (Free SHS) bill
The Association warned that rushing the legislation could undermine the quality of education and jeopardize the long-term sustainability of the Free SHS policy, which has been a major initiative of the current government.
Mr. Carbonu pointed out that the second cycle school policy, while well-intentioned, requires a more comprehensive framework to ensure its success without compromising educational standards.
NAGRAT first called for the suspension of the Free Senior High School bill for broader consultations mid-this year asking the Ministry of Education to focus on introducing an Act to fund the free SHS instead of a law to legislate the policy.
The Graduate Teachers Association expressed surprise that the Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum intends to lay in Parliament a Free Senior High School (Free SHS) Act without consultation.
“I want the President to stop sending any bill of a sort to Parliament. They should suspend it immediately and allow wider stakeholder engagement and also call on the Parliamentary Select Committee to desist working on any such document that has been sent to them by the president,” the President of NAGRAT, Mr Angel Carbonu said.
On the part of the President of the Coalition of Concerned Teachers, King Ali Awudu, he pleaded with the Minister in Charge of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum to engage the stakeholders on the Free Senior High School bill.
“We have a law on pre-tertiary education, and you are bringing this? What difference is it going to do? The 1992 Constitution already talks about the fact that after 50 years of coming into force, basic education should be free.
So, there are already constitutional provisions backing the free Senior High School policy, so if you want to bring in a free SHS bill, it is just good that you carry us along,” the President of the Coalition of Concerned Teachers stated.
The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) inline with colleague teacher unions also asked the central government to consider introducing a funding Act instead of a free Senior High School (Free SHS) bill.
Speaking on behalf of the GNAT, its General Secretary, Thomas Tanko Musah said the central government should also consider addressing challenges relating to capitation grants and other issues affecting the education sector.
“Whilst we are talking now, School Feeding {Programme} is a problem, how do we sustain the 1.4 million students we have in school, how do we sustain them, how do we sustain the basic school and the KG? We need an Act now and the Act now is funding for pre-tertiary education in Ghana, this law can be put aside for now,” he suggested.
