Why is the government in favor of unrestricted free SHS? Terkper advocates for a review.

Seth Terkper, a former finance minister, suggests a strategy akin to that of the US and Europe and questions the government’s role in subsidizing Ghana’s free SHS program.

Concerns regarding the government’s obligation to cover the entire cost of the free senior high school (SHS) program have been voiced by former Finance Minister Seth Terkper. He recommended that Ghana follow the U.S. and European models, which restrict free SHS to day students. Ghana’s free SHS scheme, which was launched by the Akufo-Addo administration in 2027, has cost GHS 9.9 billion to date. In addition to abolishing some taxes as promised, Terkper questioned how the new Mahama government intends to raise money to support initiatives like free SHS.

“Those in the diaspora, please, you need to come into this discussion,” Terkper said in an interview with TV3 on Friday, December 13. Although secondary schools are day schools, secondary education is free in the US and Europe. In the US, for example, the greatest government is implementing yellow buses that require you to stop in order to give precedence to buses carrying children to school.

Additionally, he clarified that boarding schools in wealthy, industrialized nations are usually attended by gifted children who are awarded scholarships or by the affluent who can afford the exorbitant tuition. How about we take a cue from them? Why do we believe that unrestricted free SHS is something we should support? The government bears all costs, thus it is unrestricted. The warning was sent early in the administration in 2028 when we supported free SHS with a bond of GHS 2.2 billion,” Terkper continued.

Speaking on the same program, Mr. Joe Jackson, the CEO of Dalex Finance, voiced worries about the new Mahama administration’s capacity to raise funds for development in the event that it eliminates the levies it pledged to do away with. Jackson emphasized the difficulties in running the economy, particularly with regard to the promise made in the manifesto to do away with taxes like the e-levy. Prior to the general elections in 2024, NDC candidate John Dramani Mahama pledged to eliminate a number of taxes during his first 100 days in government. These included the COVID levy, the e-levy, the 10% betting tax, the emissions tax, and the import duty on machinery and vehicles used for farming and industry.

“Let us not be mistaken, in 2025, we have to look at how we are performing in terms of revenue because some of the items are going out,” Jackson stated in an interview with TV3. The removal of the COVID charge, betting tax, and e-levy was promised in the manifesto. Many problems will therefore surface, and I am confident that the task will be extremely difficult. “You say you are going to remove tax A, B, C, and D,” he continued. However, where will the funding come from?

“Because somebody has to step up and rule, somebody has to step up and fix the country, somebody has to step up,” Jackson said in response to the question of why anyone would want to be president in 2025 given the looming obstacles.

Source: 3news