Mustapha Gbande has described the implementation of the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) policy as a missed opportunity to deliver real social transformation in Ghana, blaming poor execution and political motivations for its shortcomings.
The Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), said the Free SHS initiative, though visionary in principle, was undermined by the government’s failure to adequately invest in infrastructure, teacher welfare, and proper planning.
“I had to struggle to pay my school fees. Free SHS would have helped people like me,” he said, acknowledging the potential of the policy to lift economic burdens on many Ghanaian families.
“However, he lamented that the opportunity to build a sustainable and quality education system was lost in what he described as a politically driven rollout.
“They fed the students poorly, didn’t invest in infrastructure, and teachers weren’t motivated. It was a good vision, but the execution was politically motivated,” Gbande remarked on Starr Chart with Bola Ray in an interview.
His criticism comes at a time when concerns continue to mount over the quality and sustainability of the Free SHS programme, with many education stakeholders calling for a review. Gbande’s comments echo sentiments that while access to education has increased, quality, equity, and long-term planning have not kept pace.
He argued that the policy was used more as a campaign tool than a sincere effort to address inequality in the education sector. “Free SHS was a good policy, but poorly executed. They used it as a political tool, not a social intervention,” he added.
