SHS 1 prospectus expenses outweigh Free SHS budget – EduWatch

Despite the government effort to lessen the burden on parents of first-year second-cycle school students this year, Africa Education Watch says the amount spent on student’s prospectus and other items has outweighed the costs incurred by the government under the Free (SHS) Senior High School program.

The education think tank in its recent report indicated that the central government’s average spending per second cycle school student for boarding Senior High School was GHS1,147, and GHS1,107 for day students.

Divine Kpe, Senior Programs Officer of EduWatch presenting the report said parents spent GHS 2,477 on prospectuses for their wards in boarding schools and an additional GHS 4,000 on other personal items, including 60% on provisions.

At a conference on education financing, he added parents spent 10% on transportation, 10% on books, 10% on upkeep and 10% on personal effects like toiletries, and sanitary pads among others during the 2023/24 academic year.

The cost borne by the central government was analysed using Free SHS budgetary allocations and expenditures obtained from the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Finance, and Parliament for the academic years 2022/2023.

A Ghana News Agency blog post sighted by Thisterm.com indicated the cost to parents was analysed using historical prices of prospectus items from the Ghana Statistical Service to cost prospectuses obtained from schools.

According to Africa Education Watch’s report, the prices of prospectuses increased by 38 per cent, starting from an initial percentage of 36 during the initial implementation stage of the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) policy.

Mr. Kpe stated that parents of continuing-day students reported spending an average of GH¢4,400 annually on their children’s education, including transportation (40 per cent), breakfast (50 per cent), and books (10 per cent).

The education-focused think tank in its report also revealed that parents of day students spent GHC 5,507 inclusive of prospectus costs, outweighing the government’s spending of GHS 1,107 under the Free second cycle school program.

The report disclosed that financial constraints contributed to a 15 per cent failure of candidates to honour their admission in the 2022/23 academic year. It attributed the failure to honour admission to the high cost of prospectuses and other education materials.

To minimize the cost burden of prospectuses, the report recommended that, in the medium to long term, the Ministry of Education must develop and implement a strategy to focus on children from the poorest households using data from the LEAP program.

The report explained that the approach would enable the government to spend more to cover the full cost of secondary education for students from low-income households.

The Africa Education Watch (EduWatch) report recommended that the Ministry of Finance improve the disbursement of funds under the policy in line with the objectives, implementation arrangements, and cash flow projections.