The Ghana Education Service has firmly dismissed reports claiming that students under the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) policy are being charged feeding fees, insisting that no school has been authorised to collect money from parents or students under any circumstance.
In a statement issued by management, the GES described allegations that some schools were demanding GH¢1,700 as feeding fees as “false and misleading.” The clarification follows a radio discussion suggesting that the Free SHS policy was no longer entirely free, with claims that certain schools had begun charging students for meals.
The GES states that the government remains fully committed to sustaining and improving the flagship education programme and will not tolerate any actions that undermine it.
Management of the Ghana Education Service has not authorised or sanctioned any school to charge fees, under any name or in any form, from students or parents, the statement stressed.
The Service urged the public to disregard what it called unsubstantiated reports intended to misinform citizens about the Free SHS policy.
While rejecting claims of any official approval, the GES acknowledged that some schools could be acting independently and warned that any institution found collecting unauthorised feeding fees would be violating policy directives.
Any school found to be charging money under the guise of feeding fees, as alleged, is acting unlawfully and without the approval of Management, the statement emphasised.
The GES further cautioned that secret fee collection and the spread of misinformation about Free SHS undermine national interest and public confidence in the programme.
Government’s commitment to not only maintain the Free SHS policy, but improve upon it, has not changed, the statement added.
Parents and students who may have been asked to pay unauthorised fees have been encouraged to report such incidents to the GES for investigation and possible disciplinary action against offending schools.
Introduced in 2017, the Free SHS policy remains one of Ghana’s largest social intervention programmes, covering tuition, accommodation, and feeding for students in public senior high schools nationwide.
Despite periodic concerns over funding and infrastructure, successive governments have consistently reaffirmed their commitment to sustaining the policy.