The Ministry of Education (MoE) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ghana National Council of Private Schools (GNACOPS) and the Conference of Heads and Proprietors of Private Senior High Schools (CHOPSS) to formally include private second-cycle institutions in the Free Senior High School (SHS) programme.
This significant development aims to utilise the excess capacity in private schools to alleviate congestion in public second-cycle schools nationwide.
The move also fulfils a campaign pledge made by President John Dramani Mahama during the 2024 election period to extend the ‘Free SHS’ policy and forms part of the government’s broader effort to eliminate the double-track system in public schools, which has been cited as affecting quality education.
Key signatories and scope
The Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, signed on behalf of the ministry. At the same time, the Executive Director of GNACOPS, Enoch Kwasi Gyetuah, and the President of CHOPSS, I.K. Mensah, signed for their respective organisations.
About 70 private schools participating in this initiative have already declared over 44,000 vacancies and the government has since placed at least 25,000 qualified Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) candidates into these institutions via the Computerised Schools Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) in this 2025/26 academic year.
“The government remains deeply committed to the terms and conditions of this agreement. So, the other aspect is that today, apart from honouring our campaign pledge, we are bringing some excitement to some parents and some students,” he said
Addressing quality and placement challenges
Haruna Iddrisu, speaking at the signing ceremony, acknowledged that the current Free SHS implementation faced issues that impacted the delivery of quality second-cycle education.
He referenced the previous administration’s expansion of access, which effectively redefined Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) to include free SHS, noting that the constitution guarantees equal educational opportunities for all Ghanaians today.
The minister expressed the government’s satisfaction in partnering with private institutions to resolve the overcrowding and double-track challenge.
He emphasised that the 25,000 students placed in private SHSs would otherwise have been without a school, which could have prematurely ended their educational careers.
Mr. Iddrisu expressed confidence in the quality standards of the partner private schools, stating that many of the placed students are expected to progress to the tertiary level.
“So in Ghana, today, the constitution guarantees equal educational opportunities for all Ghanaians…We are assured by your quality over the years and know that some of them, if not all of them, will make it to the tertiary level,” he said.
Gov’t oversight
The minister emphasised that the government is deeply committed to the terms of the agreement, announcing that it would be providing a stipend of at least GH₵250 to support the transition of students moving into private schools under the programme.
Mr. Iddrisu further stated that he had requested the National Schools Inspection Authority (NASIA) to assess the readiness and quality standards of private schools. While some institutions will need to work on improvements, others were deemed more than ready to begin the process.
In response, Mr. Gyetuah affirmed GNACOPS’ readiness to partner with the government to ensure all aspects of the MoU are adhered to, thereby protecting the integrity of education delivery.
Similarly, Mr. Mensah of CHOPSS underscored the necessity of compliance with the terms of the MoU.
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