GHANA’S FREE EDUCATION - BEAUTY AND UGLY DISCUSSIONS

At his first State of Nation Address to the Parliament of the Republic, H.E. the President indicated his commitment to implement his long-held promise of making senior level education free for all Ghanaians. To many, it was not surprising as his campaign in 2008, 2012 and 2016 very much featured free education as one of the changes to come should then candidate Nana Akufo-Addo wins. The announcement, however, has generated some buzz in the country. Social media has been inundated with analysis and counter analysis with regards to cost, impact and benefit. In most instance, the discussion has been stimulating and insightful. My friends at Imani- a revered think tank in Ghana, have indicated their open disagreement with the policy and are livid the government is going ahead with implementation come September 2017. Imani’s President, Franklin Cudjoe, and Bright Simons- Vice President have led the charge against the policy. In all, the discussions have been intellectually apt, stimulating and critical questions raised. Supporters of the policy have tried frantically to respond to Imani and the likes and in most instance delivered strong, purposeful counter arguments. As a policy planner, such lively discussions are appropriate as they enable the social planner opportunity to tweak and adjust policies to be more encompassing and more targeted to the challenge for which they are designed for.

In the midst of this lively discussions also have been some ugly noises- an instance where the discussions turned into personal attacks and insults. I strongly condemn such hostile dudgeon exhibited by people who obviously are not ready to enrich the discussion as to them education does not matter. We as a people must learn to tolerate one another and allow people to express their views, opinion and arguments freely- that is what defines us a developing democracy. 

By the President’s pronouncement, free secondary education has come into force, and our discussion subsequently very much must be aimed at shaping the design and the implementation of the policy. Fortunately, Free education seems to be one of the few policies that enjoy consensus from among the political parties in Ghana, though they differ in approach with regards to implementation. The Constitution of the Republic also intimates the need to have an educated force and must be done so at the expense of the State since the State is the biggest beneficiary. When Ghana signed on to the Free, Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE), the notion was to inculcate education in Ghanaians right from the basic level. Suffice to know that FCUBE could not be enough in ensuring that Ghana had a well-trained and employable workforce. Scaling up to senior secondary level becomes a reasonable option. I recall my days as a Student Leader and the many times we emphasised that education was a right and not a privilege. It seems to me that education at some point had become a privilege for the few who could afford and that excluded significant numbers of talented Ghanaians who ends up on the streets because their parents could not afford education.      

A report by the Ministry of Education published in May 2015 and titled “Report on basic statistics and planning parameters for Senior High Schools in Ghana 2014/2015” indicates that Ghana has some 562-public senior high schools with a total enrolment of 741,042 for the 2014/2015 academic year. There are also 301 private schools with an enrollment population of 63,922. Gross enrolment ratio for 2014/2015 academic year for persons in the age group 15-17 is 45.8 percent. Clearly, over 50 percent of secondary school going age are unable to enrol in our senior high school. Clearly, there is a problem, and several reasons could be assign, but funding will always come on top of the challenges. The worry is that the problem has not improved with the business as usual approach. UNESCO Institute statistics indicate that gross enrolment as of 1971 was 43 percent. The progress made from 1971 to date is infinitesimal and free education present opportunity to get every secondary school going age into school.     

It is also clear that the free education policy will have challenges just like any other policy. Chief among the challenge is uncertainties. I have heard critics raise the issue with the numbers i.e. the number of students covered under the programme, the estimated cost, the cost per year and so on. Yes, any assessment of a policy will always throw out some numbers, and that serves as a guide for planning purpose. What is equally true is that each new policy would always have uncertainties and must intermittently resolve. I recalled in 2012, a committee chaired by Prof. Dominic Fobeh and Prof. Gyan-Baffour was established to look into the numbers for the free SHS policy. The NPP manifesto had the broad policy view and is up to technocrats at the bureaucratic establishment (in particular Ministries of Finance and Education) to translate the vision of the President into functioning programme. This approach is how it’s done everywhere in the world. Specialised experts are brought on board to assist as and when necessary. I, therefore, gets surprised when I hear commentators question the numbers at this very time.

It is also important to indicate that not all policy decisions weight more on cost rather on impact. It is a truism that an educated society is more productive and a catalyst for growth and development. Nations that have developed and have had sustained growth often are educated ones. Japan, United States, Europe and Scandinavians have seen the unprecedented growth and development due in part to huge investment in education. In fact, in Japan, the government operates a “convoy system” of education where no child is left behind. It is costly, and there are always competing needs for the same scarce resources. However, the long-term benefit outweighs the initial investment. Of all known economic growth sources; solovian, Smithian, increasing the return to scale and schumperian, non-is able to function aptly without an educated force. Government expenditure increase in areas of education is a sure way of having future growth and development that is sustainable and beneficial.

One other thing lost on all of us in the current discussion is the current scholarship and bursary system in operation. The Northern Education Trust, the CocoaBod Scholarship and host of other schemes together finances close to 50% of all senior secondary school students in Ghana. I benefited from CocoaBod Scholarship during my SSS days at Sunyani High School. In essence, the current arrangement itself covers a significant proportion of Ghanaian students and extending it to cover the remaining 50% can only be seen as fair and right. Mobilising schemes such as Northern Education Trust and the CocoaBod scholarship and the funding channelled into the financing of the broader free SHS programme is right and appropriate.

I have also heard others argued that subsidies or freebies of government are a postponement of tax obligation since taxes and loans finance government expenses. Rational consumers often do not consume the rebate income since they expect taxes to increase shortly. In the end, the rebate which offered relieve for families never gets spent, and the economy does not benefit. The central principle of the Ricardian Equivalence theory is formed around this thinking and often cited as an argument against increased government expenditure. This theory holds when families have income and can plan with their earned income. In our case, several families are not in a capacity to pay their wards fees and are neither in any form of employment. They, therefore, do not have any expectation of future government action on taxation as they appear insulated from such actions. Relieving them of such expenses as school fees enable them to put to proper use the little resource they have and that potentially impact on the economy.

Another argument has been that free education could compromise the quality of education. It is a fact that our education system faces challenges in so many areas which have compromised the quality. We no longer able to compete with our peers from the rest of the world especially in the areas of mathematics and science. The quality of teaching staff has ebbed, and its products only add to the numbers. Our education no longer responds to the needs of our technologically fast-changing world. Certainly, quality is important. The government must strive to improve the infrastructure, teacher conditions, and position our education to claim its lost glory. And free education will ensure every Ghanaian of school going age have the golden opportunity to enjoy such free but quality education.

I support free education because of the long-term benefits to this country. Governance is about choices. We saw in the past some government who choose to invest in unproductive and dubious projects and programmes. They raped this nation of millions of cedis and built the personal economy of people who do not deserve it. That was their choice, and I am trusting that the laws of the land will deal with such people. I’m glad H.E. Nana Akufo-Addo has chosen to invest in the Ghanaian people. For those who say free education is an expensive venture, I can only say this, “if you think education is expensive try ignorance”. An educated force can attend to the numerous challenges facing the country. I urge all and sundry to support such a worthy course.  

Kwadwo Kyeremeh

kyeremeh@gmail.com