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Don’t impose additional burdens on families- CRI
The Executive Director of Child Rights International (CRI), Mr Bright Appiah, has called on government not to impose additional financial burdens on families whose children are beneficiaries of the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) policy.
The call was in reaction to concerns over proposals suggesting that parents should bear additional costs related to the Free SHS policy, including expenses for food and accommodation.
He argues that such measures undermine the policy’s fundamental principles of equity, inclusivity, and universal access to secondary education.
In a statement signed by its Executive Director, Mr Bright Appiah, CRI emphasised that the Free SHS policy was designed to eliminate financial barriers to education, ensuring that all children have equal opportunities.
“Requiring parents to shoulder feeding and accommodation costs, according to him, introduces inequalities and contradicts the policy’s original intent,” Mr Appiah stated.
He underscored that while logistical challenges in implementing Free SHS persist, it is the responsibility of the government and implementing authorities to resolve these issues, not parents.
He called for direct engagement between stakeholders and the government to address any operational or systemic flaws.
Highlighting Ghana’s commitment to international child rights standards, including the Children’s Act and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, he reiterated that policies affecting children must prioritise their well-being.
Mr Appiah called on stakeholders to refrain from actions that could deprive students of essential needs like food and accommodation, reaffirming that every child has a right to education without impediments.
“As stakeholders we have the mandate to collaborate and find solutions that would protect and enhance Free SHS policy to secure a brighter future for Ghanaian children and the nation as a whole,” he said.
Mr Appiah reaffirmed CRI’s dedication to safeguarding children’s rights and ensuring that educational policies do not compromise access to education.
By Agnes Opoku Sarpong
News
Minister for Education leads monitoring visit to BECE Centres
As part of efforts to encourage candidates writing the 2025 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), the Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrissu has led a government delegation to the 5 Garrison Education Centre and Emmause Cluster of Schools earlier today in Accra.
The visit aimed at monitoring the conduct of the examination, interacting with candidates, and offering words of motivation.
The minister urged the students to remain focused, confident, and determined, encouraging them to do their best to make themselves and the nation proud.
Accompanying the Education minister were the Minister for Defence, Edward Omane Boamah; Deputy Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs and Member of Parliament for La Dadekotopon, Rita Naa Odoley Sowah and the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Prof. Ernest Davis.
The rest included the Chief Director of the Ministry of Education, Mrs. Maamle Andrews; and the Municipal Chief Executive for La Dadekotopon, Alfredos Nii Anyetei.
Other dignitaries present also reiterated government’s commitment to educational excellence and the holistic development of every Ghanaian child.
News
Interior Minister calls for correctional reform as Prisons Service graduates New Officers
Speaking at the Passing-Out Parade of Recruit Course 125 at Ankaful Prison Officers’ Training School in the Central Region, the Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak has emphasized the need for correctional reform in Ghana, highlighting the government’s commitment to transforming the Prisons Service into a modern correctional facility that focuses on rehabilitation, reformation and reintegration.
He noted that Government remains committed to expanding vocational training, educational programmes and productive inmate enterprises that reinforce rehabilitation, reformation and reintegration.
The minister pointed out that correctional facilities must become centers of reform, not just detention.
According to him, “is not an act of charity but a strategic investment in national security and human capital. When we empower an inmate with employable skills, we reduce the opportunity for that inmate to re-offend. Rehabilitation and reformation do not occur in isolation but must be linked to purposeful activity.”
To give practical effect to this policy, Muntaka Mohamed-Mubarak announced that Government will scale up support for prison-based ventures, saying that entures such as carpentry, tailoring, agriculture, and industrial operations, including bottled water production, will be central to a sustainable, self-reliant correctional economy.
The Minister also directed all institutions under the Ministry for the Interior to prioritise the purchase of bottled water and toilet rolls produced by the Ghana Prisons Service.
This, he said, will not only reduce the financial burden on the state but also generate revenue and promote inmates’ productivity.
He reassured the leadership and personnel of the Ghana Prisons Service of the Government’s unwavering support, emphasizing that the commitment goes beyond improving logistics and infrastructure to reforming the very foundation of correctional practice in Ghana.
Muntaka Mubarak urged the new officers to serve with integrity, compassion, and professionalism, and assured them that their actions would reflect the high standards of the Service and the trust the nation has placed in them.
