President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo emphasized that despite criticism from detractors who dismiss the free Senior High School (SHS) policy as a mere political slogan, the initiative has significantly improved the lives of Ghanaians who would have otherwise discontinued their education after Junior High School (JHS).

During his tenure of seven years as president, Akufo-Addo has encountered numerous individuals, both young and old, from various regions of the country, who have shared stories about being the first in their families and communities to attend Senior High School (SHS).

He noted that not being able to go to secondary school for “lack of money was so widespread and an accepted phenomenon that it led to some people thinking Senior High School was not meant for them or their children or for people from their village, and, therefore, a child in the family finishing Junior High School and moving on to Senior High School was simply not factored in their expectations."

“Free SHS might be labelled by its detractors as a mere political slogan that must be demonised, but it is, in fact, a transformative programme that has broken myths and liberated minds. It is humbling on the one hand and frightening on the other, to think of the sheer number of talents that Free SHS has unearthed that would otherwise have ended their formal education at BECE.”

President Akufo-Addo is confident that the country will get more “engineers, doctors, architects, scientists, writers and poets out of the increased numbers of those attending Senior High School, who will go on to further education.”

He emphasised that even if they stop at SHS, one can only imagine what “a million more Secondary School educated young people will do to our self-confidence and the value of our workforce. That, alone, makes Free SHS worthwhile.”

President Akufo-Addo delivered his State of the Nation Address in Parliament on Tuesday, February 27, 2024.