CEO of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Sulemana Braimah, has recognized the Free Senior High School (SHS) programme as a valuable initiative. However, he also expressed concern over its flawed implementation and politicization.“I think it’s a great programme and I have always said that, except that it’s been politicised and implemented in a very terrible way,” he said.

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Braimah suggested that greater transparency was needed, especially regarding the process and the roles of teachers and parents.

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“It would have been great if the government had been more transparent and open about the process so that teachers would have a role to play, and parents would have a greater role to play, rather than saying it’s Free SHS and I’m doing everything, I’ll provide uniforms, and then two years down the line, uniforms haven’t been provided, textbooks aren’t provided, but parents have to buy textbooks, exercise books aren’t provided, but

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parents have to buy exercise books, and so on.”He emphasized that while the programme promised free uniforms, textbooks, and exercise books, parents ended up having to cover these costs themselves.During his appearance on Joy News’ AM Show News Review with Benjamin Akakpo on November 11, 2024, Mr Braimah urged a more analytical approach when discussing the programme, urging people not to merely echo political talking points.

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“So that we don’t just repeat the kind of things that politicians would want to repeat," he added.The Free SHS programme, launched by the Nana Addo-led government in 2017 as a key campaign promise, has faced backlash over its implementation. Critics argue it was rolled out at the wrong time and has negatively impacted the quality of education.

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Despite this, the programme has seen a significant increase in student enrolment, with current secondary school attendance reaching 1.4 million compared to 308,799 before 2016.

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