We did our best with free SHS, but there’s room for improvement – Rev. Ntim Fordjour

Rev. John Ntim Fordjour discussed the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) policy. He helped implement this initiative as Deputy Minister for Education.

On Joy Prime, he reflected on the program's successes and challenges. “We did our best with Free SHS,” he said. “We’re proud of what we achieved.” The policy provided equal access to education for all students.

However, he admitted that implementation had issues. “One area we could’ve improved was prompt remittances to schools,” he noted. Delays in funding caused operational challenges, and they accept responsibility for that.

Rev. Fordjour also addressed the feeding component of the policy. He mentioned that the opposition promised to decentralize food procurement initially. However, they later returned to a centralized system.

“There were bottlenecks with food supply,” he explained. This created friction in school administration.

Despite criticisms, he believes in the policy’s long-term benefits. “Enrollment figures rose sharply,” he stated. Many students who might have dropped out stayed in school due to financial support.

While proud of these results, Rev. Fordjour stressed the need for ongoing improvement. “Every major policy has teething problems,” he said. It’s important to learn from them and do better moving forward.