Minister for Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, has revealed that the Cabinet has given the green light for a new law that will make senior high school (SHS) education both free and mandatory.

This legislation will also solidify the Free SHS policy with a legal foundation.

During the “State of Education in Ghana” event, Dr. Adutwum emphasized that this new law is a pivotal step toward formalizing and ensuring the sustainability of the Free SHS policy.

He stated, “When you hear of us talking about free compulsory universal secondary education and the enactment of an act to guide and protect free secondary education, we are talking about ensuring that no child has a choice to say, ‘I will not go to secondary school.’”

The proposal, now approved by Cabinet, is set to guarantee that secondary education remains free and obligatory, he added.

Dr. Adutwum, who also represents the Bosomtwe constituency, praised the Free SHS initiative as transformative, noting its impact since its launch in 2017.

“Before the introduction of free secondary school education, a little over eight hundred thousand students were enrolled in senior high schools, today, it is 1.4 million plus. This is a great accomplishment,” he said.

The announcement follows last month’s revelation by the Majority in Parliament that a bill to enshrine the Free SHS policy into law was forthcoming.

The Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, disclosed at a press briefing ahead of Parliament’s return on June 11, 2024, that the bill, finalized and awaiting presentation by Dr. Adutwum, aims to ensure the policy’s permanence across future administrations.

He emphasized that the new law would make it obligatory for future governments to uphold the Free SHS policy, stating, “If we consider it [Free SHS bill] as a House, what that means is that it becomes mandatory for governments to implement this. Unless it is repealed, no government would have the right to say, I am not going to enforce Free SHS because now it is law, so if you fail, a citizen can apply to the court and the court can exact justice in that citizen’s favour.”