Retired Supreme Court Judge, Justice Jones Dotse, has called for a national conversation on the future of Ghana’s Free Senior High School (Free SHS) policy, stressing the need to remodel the programme to ensure long-term sustainability.
Speaking at the 72nd anniversary celebration of Kpando Senior High School in the Volta Region, Justice Dotse commended the initiative but expressed concern about its financial viability as the nation’s population continues to grow.
“The introduction of the free SHS is undoubtedly one of the best social intervention programs we have had in the Fourth Republic,” he acknowledged.
“But looking at our numbers, with the population growth and our economic growth, I don’t think it is sustainable in the long run. So, the stakeholders should start thinking about remodelling it.”
He proposed a shift toward a community-based day school model that could ease the financial and infrastructural burden on the state.
“You eat in the morning, you go to school, you will have a hot meal in the afternoon, you continue up to 2 or 3, you break.
“Then the dormitories can be converted into classrooms because there is no boarding. Then students from that locality will go there,” he explained.
