He said the performance of free SHS students in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) had shown that the government was upholding quality in the implementation of the policy.

“A look at the WASSCE results of the first batch of the free SHS graduates, the Akufo-Addo graduates, and those whose results have just been released gives further evidence of why the free SHS policy has been a success so far,” he noted.

President Akufo-Addo said five years after the implementation of the policy, which had guaranteed a minimum of SHS education for 1.6 million Ghanaian children, he was very proud of the policy and its results so far.

TAMASCO

Speaking at the 70th anniversary of the Tamale Senior High School (TAMASCO) over the weekend, the President indicated that the performance of the 2021 batch of students, who were the pioneers of the double-track system, “which elicited much vilification and unfounded criticism of its introduction”, was one of best results in the history of the country.

In 2017, the government launched the free SHS policy, with the aim of increasing access, lifting financial burden off parents, among other things.

President Akufo-Addo (2nd from left) being assisted by Dr Bawumia (left) and Rev. Edward Azika (2nd from right), the Headmaster of TAMASCO, to cut the anniversary cake, while Dr Ibn Chambas (right) applauds

“There were some who described it as a waste, some said it would destroy our Ivy League schools and some also indicated that the policy was going to compromise the quality of SHS education. None of these happened and I am sure they have eggs on their faces now, or should have,” President Akufo-Addo said.
He reiterated the government’s commitment to invest more in education to empower every Ghanaian and meet the human resource needs of the country, saying that the most efficient way to create a society of opportunities that would guarantee the future of the country was to invest more in education.

TVET/STEM

On the development of technical and vocational education and training (TVET), the President indicated that the government would expand the free SHS policy to cover all first-year students in public TVET schools next year.

He added that technical universities and about 34 National Vocational Training Institutes (NVTIs) would also be rehabilitated and upgraded to boost technical and vocational training.

He further expressed the government’s resolve to invest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education to prepare the country for a future of robotics and artificial intelligence.

President Akufo-Addo said the government had begun the construction of 20 STEM centres across the country.

Support school

A diplomat, Dr Mohammed Ibn Chambas, who chaired the event, called on old students of the school to support the management to develop the school.

He also urged parents to invest in their childrens’ education, so that the latter would become people of whom society could be proud.

For his part, the Headmaster of TAMASCO, Rev. Edward Azika, said the performance of the school in the WASSCE kept improving every year and asked for the construction of more infrastructure to enable the school to increase its enrolment.

He thanked the government and the old students for their contribution towards the development of the school.

Anniversary celebration

The anniversary, on the theme: "TAMASCO @70: Leading secondary education in Northern Ghana”, brought together old students, chiefs, parents and well-wishers.

Among the key personalities who graced the event were the Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, who is an old student, and a former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), Professor Joshua Alabi.