Peter Kwabena Anarfi-Mensah, a retired educationist and former Ashanti Regional Minister has implored the Education Ministry to reconsider their stance on getting students their preferred schools in the implementation of the free Senior High School Education policy.
He has therefore asked the Ministry to involve private or affluent schools into the enrollment enhancing free SHS policy so as to ensure pupils have the luxury of choosing wherever they want to pursue their secondary level education.
According to him, denying students their choices will be recipe of chaos since most of their parents would prefer paying to the schools their wards chose than allowing them to be placed in schools whose standards are considered low.
Speaking on radio last Tuesday in reaction to the town hall meetings the Education Ministry was embarking on with Headmasters and the media on the roll out of the proposed Free education policy, Mr Anarfi-Mensah conceded to Oheneba Asiedu of Silver fm that the policy was a good one since it had the potential to allow more pupils to access secondary education.
He, however, wished that all bottlenecks and issues that could hinder the smooth roll out of the policy was addressed before its implementation.
APPEAL:
Mr Anarfi-Mensah, who was a former Headmaster of Tepa Senior High School appealed to the Education Ministry to ensure students get access to schools of their choice.
This, he maintained would encourage pupils to study to ensure they pass to attain the high grades those well-known schools were requiring.
He opined that parents who do not get the preferred choice of their wards because of the Computer placement system would rather pay to ensure they get same.
This, he stated would defeat the purpose of the free senior high school policy since only public schools was being considered to offer the scholarship package.
SOLUTION:
Expressing a view, the retired educationist said the gradual upgrading of all senior high school schools in the country was the solution to the refusal of parents to enroll their wards in schools they consider sub-standard.
He asked for the inclusion of private schools in the new policy so as to give pupils multiple choices in choosing which schools to attend.
”No parent would have the right to refuse their wards from going to schools they are placed if the standard of the schools are same everywhere”, Mr Anarfi posited.
According to him, every child or pupil would want to attend schools they feel can offer them the platform or facilities to pursue the courses of their choice.
However, Mr Anarfi has encouraged the ministry to insist on headmasters having an all round knowledge in administration and basic accounting techniques, adding that will enhance their scope of work.
