The Vice President and flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, recently held a meeting with the National Executives of the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) at the Jubilee House in Accra.
The meeting, which took place on Monday, April 22, saw discussions on various ways to enhance the free Senior High School Policy and improve education in general.
Dr Bawumia expressed his appreciation for the “excellent” contributions made by the national executives of CHASS towards improving the education sector. He highlighted his vision of leveraging the private sector and enhancing the credit system to expand educational infrastructure, support teaching and non-teaching staff, and ultimately improve the quality of education and educational outcomes.
During the meeting, Dr Bawumia explained his proposal, which involves encouraging the private sector to build infrastructure such as dormitories and classrooms, which the government would then rent over a period of years and eventually own. This approach aims to avoid huge initial government expenditures through the GETFUND and minimize delays in completing infrastructure projects in senior high schools. Additionally, the proposal includes leasing buses for schools as part of the new mode of financing.
CHASS expressed excitement about the potential benefits of this policy proposal, as it could help reduce the educational infrastructure deficit, improve maintenance, enhance the quality of education, and enhance the management of government expenditure.
Dr Bawumia expressed gratitude to the leadership of CHASS for the productive discussions and emphasized the possibility of implementing these innovative solutions in the education sector.
