President John Dramani Mahama has reaffirmed his unwavering commitment to the Free Senior High School (SHS) program, emphatically declaring that he will not scrap it.
According to him, he will instead enhance its implementation to better serve Ghanaian students.
Delivering his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) since returning to office, Mahama addressed Parliament on Thursday, outlining bold reforms to address the program’s shortcomings while tackling broader educational challenges.
In a resounding statement aimed at dispelling rumours and setting the record straight, Mahama asserted, “Once again, for emphasis and for the record, I, John Dramani Mahama, President of the Republic of Ghana, will not cancel the Free SHS Program.”
“I will not cancel the Free SHS Program. I am determined to make it better by improving its implementation.”
The President stressed that since its inception, approximately 3.4 million students have benefited from the initiative, and debunked claims by the previous administration that the figure stood at 5.1 million.
“That was an exaggerated and false narrative calculated to achieve political credit,” he charged.
While acknowledging the program’s success in improving access to education, Mahama pointed out its persistent flaws.
According to him, the Free SHS Program has improved access, but the implementation leaves much to be desired and to address this, his administration plans to draw on outcomes from the ongoing National Education Forum to guide reforms.
One key challenge, the double-track system, remains a priority. “We are committed to eliminating it by accelerating school infrastructure expansion and completing stalled educational projects,” Mahama pledged, noting that the Ministries of Education and Finance are collaborating to uncap the GET Fund to finance these efforts.
Mahama also outlined plans to improve the quality of secondary education under the Free SHS framework and indicated that the government has begun improving secondary school feeding, and the children are getting better quality food.
According to him, to decentralize and streamline operations, the government will strengthen procurement and store management, eventually handing over food procurement responsibilities to individual schools.
Additionally, the restoration of Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs) was announced as a step toward community involvement.
“It is important for parents and communities to participate in the administration of their schools,” Mahama said, though he cautioned that PTAs would be regulated to avoid imposing financial burdens on struggling families.
Beyond Free SHS, Mahama detailed expansive reforms to bolster education at all levels, including the Zero to Hero initiative for foundational literacy and numeracy, a new curriculum for senior high technical and STEM schools, and a standardized national sign language for hearing-impaired learners.
He also committed to supporting rural teachers with a 20% allowance and building teacher accommodation units under the Teacher Dabre Initiative. “No new school will be built in this country without teachers’ accommodation,” he emphasized.
