The Government of Ghana, through the Ministry of Education, has procured beds, mattresses and chairs to be distributed to Senior High Schools across the county.
A total of 54,445 beds, 108, 890 mattresses and 36,240 staff common room chairs are set to be supplied to these schools.
In a statement issued November 22, Public Relations Officer of the Ministry, Ekow Vincent Assafuah, said the items are to bump up the furniture supplies in Secondary, Technical, Vocational and Agricultural schools.
Beneficiary schools include Ejisuman SHS, Achinakrom SHS, Sakafia Islamic SHS, Oppong Memorial SHS, Gyaama Pensan SHTS, Dadease Agric SHS, Bechem Presby SHS.
The rest are; Odomaseman SHS, Bole SHS, Walewale SHS, Bawku SHTS, Sandema SHTS, Three Town SHS, Aveyime-Battor SHS, Vakpo SHS, Have Technical Institute, Half Assini SHS, among others.
“Additionally, procurement activities have started for the distribution of 214,050 mono desks and it is expected to be completed by January 2020”, a statement from the Free SHS Secretariat also read.
The choice of using metals instead of wood for the beds in recent times is a way to fight bedbug infestations in our second cycle schools.
About Free SHS Policy
The Free SHS Policy was launched by the Akufo-Addo-led government in September 2017.
The policy enrols every child in Ghana who qualifies for, and is placed in a public Senior High School for his secondary education will have his/her fees absorbed by the government.
The government has however, received a lot of backlash from sections of the public and media over reported cases of congestion and inadequate supply of furniture in some Senior High Schools.
The government has subsequently put in place measures to mitigate the challenges that confronted the implementation of the program.
Source: J. Ofori, Daily Mail GH