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Don’t lie over Free SHS enrollment numbers – Dr. Apaak to Akufo-Addo

Address concerns of education unions on strike and avoid consequence

The Deputy Ranking Member of the Education Committee of Parliament, Dr. Clement Apaak, has described as a “blatant lie” President Akufo-Addo’s claim that 5.7 young people have benefited from the Free Senior High School.

This comes on the back of President Akufo-Addo’s during his State of the Nation Address stating that 5.7 million young people have benefited from the Free Senior High School (FSHS) program.

But, speaking on Starr Today with Joshua Kojo Mensah, Dr. Apaak vehemently rejected the president’s statement, calling it a “blatant lie.”

Dr. Apaak emphasized that when examining the actual enrollment statistics since the program’s inception in 2017, only 3.1 million students had been enrolled as of 2024. He noted that this figure referred to enrollments, not the number of students who had completed their secondary education.

“5.7 million benefited from the Free Senior High School, that is a blatant lie because if you look at the enrollment statistics from 2017 when the first cohort from the policy entered secondary school to this year 2024 it is 3.1 million students and I am not even talking about completion, I am talking enrollment”, the Builsa South lawmaker disclosed.

According to him, the policy, which is still ongoing, could not have already benefitted 5.7 million students, as the president had claimed.

He referred to an alarming 10% of students involved in cheating during the WASSCE, a figure that was unprecedented.

Dr. Apaak acknowledged that the Free SHS policy has provided access to education for many young people but also stressed that it had not been implemented effectively. He suggested that the poor execution of the program was one of the key reasons why Ghanaians were increasingly dissatisfied with the current administration.

According to Dr. Apaak, this dissatisfaction could lead to the return of former President John Mahama, who is believed to have ensured the sustainability of the policy.