Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, has defended his proposal to abolish the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) Secretariat, citing concerns over corruption and mismanagement.
Speaking during an interview with the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) on Friday, November 29, 2024, Mr. Mahama outlined his vision for restructuring the administration of the policy to enhance efficiency and accountability.
If elected as President, Mr. Mahama said he plans to transfer the management of the Free SHS programme to the Ghana Education Service (GES).
This move, he explained, would bring the policy under a more structured and established institutional framework, ensuring greater oversight.
“We all need to sit and look at what the lapses are and see how we can cure those lapses going forward. We want to cut waste, this government is very good at duplicating and creating new offices and things just to create jobs for the boys.
“The GES has the mandate and authority to supervise the educational sector so I don’t see why you would have a stand-alone free SHS Secretariat. And I hear the rot and corruption that are going on there.
“I think it’s time to bring it back to GES and let GES superintend over it. Senior High School coordinators would still be senior high coordinators but they would be supervised by GES.”