He suggests that, specific fee waivers should be directed at needy level 100 students identified through thorough research and assessments.

“When it comes to tertiary education, needy students need to be targeted. Some manage to attend senior high schools, but advancing to tertiary education becomes a challenge.

“We need to have a specific target on waiving fees for level 100 students. If thorough research is done to identify these needy students and their fees are paid, it will be a significant help,and it can go beyond the first year,” he stated.

His remarks follow a recent announcement by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama, who pledged that first-year tertiary students would not pay academic fees if his party is voted into power.

This initiative, according to Mahama, aims to reduce the financial burden on parents.

However, Speaking on Adom FM’s morning show, Dwaso Nsem on Tuesday, Mr Nimo raised concerns about the sustainability of such a policy, questioning how students would fund the remaining years of their education.

He further recommended strengthening the Ghana Student Loan Trust Fund and addressing its current challenges to make it more accessible to students,

This follows the West African Examinations Council’s (WAEC) statement that it might have to postpone the upcoming Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) due to financial constraints.

According to the Director of Public Affairs at WAEC, John Kapi, the council needs about GH₵90 million to conduct the exams and pay its debt.

Speaking on the JoyNews AM show, Mr Asare said, “When we talk about targeting, people quickly brush it off because they think we talk too much or think it does not inure with their political understanding of what the solution should be. But the reality is that a low-income country like Ghana cannot effectively sustain the implementation of social interventions if we do not target when advanced countries are targeting.”

Mr Asare pointed out that while Ghana implements free basic education as a right, there is no documented policy specifically outlining it.

He explained that, this gap leads to the assumption that only those in the public sector benefit from free basic education, while those in the private sector do not.

“That has been our mundane way of targeting. This has extended to the secondary level. It is only for interventions that are implemented under the Ghana School Feeding Programme that are under the Ministry of Gender and Social Protection where you see the Ghana School Feeding Programme and the LEAP (Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty) being targeted” he noted.

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The meeting aimed at encouraging a collaborative relationship and aiding in policy formulation towards improving the education sector in Ghana.

The Executive Director of Africa Education Watch, Kofi Asare, expressed the think tank’s enthusiasm for the partnership and highlighted that the organization always work with the Ghana Education Service (GES) and other educational institutions to enhance the quality of education.

During the discussion, Mr. Asare emphasised several critical issues affecting the education sector. One of the primary concerns raised was the issue of education financing.

He also lamented the inadequate funding which hampers the effective implementation of educational programmes and infrastructure development.

The organisation stressed the need for increased investment to ensure sustainable educational reforms.

Africa Education Watch also called for reforms within the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) concerning the administration of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).

They advocated for changes that would enhance the credibility and fairness of these examinations, ensuring that they accurately reflect students’ abilities and knowledge.

A significant issue highlighted by Africa Education Watch was the high rate of school dropouts, particularly in deprived communities.

They pointed out that approximately 4,000 primary schools in Ghana do not have Junior High School (JHS) facilities, leading to a dropout rate of about 20 per cent after primary school.

This alarming statistic underscores the need for urgent intervention to keep children in school and ensure they receive a complete basic education.

Dr. Peter Boamah Otokunor, on behalf of the NDC, expressed deep appreciation for the impactful work of Africa Education Watch in the education sector.

He reaffirmed the NDC’s position as a social democratic party committed to engaging with key stakeholders to drive educational reforms.

Dr. Otokunor reiterated former President John Mahama’s promise that within his first 100 days in office, he would convene all educational experts to assess the educational sector and provide necessary recommendations for improvement.

He reiterated that the engagement marks the beginning of a collaborative effort to address the pressing challenges within Ghana’s education system and to work towards a more equitable and effective educational framework.

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According to the education think tank, the significant increase in enrollment in secondary schools from 813,448 in the 2016/17 academic year to 1.3 million in the 2022/23 academic year can be attributed to the introduction of the Free SHS policy.

Eduwatch reported that during the first six years of the policy, an average of 422,940 students were enrolled annually, compared to an average of 260,490 annual enrolments in the six years preceding the policy.

“About 5.7 million students have so far benefited from the free SHS policy from the 2017/18 to 2022/23 academic year. Between the 2019/20 and 2022/23 academic years, 194,862 candidates did not honour their admissions at first instance into second cycle schools,” the report, titled Financial Burden Analysis of the Free SHS Policy and Equitable Access, said.

In terms of government expenditure, the report indicated that between the 2017/23 and 2023/24 academic years, a total of GH¢12.88 billion was allocated to the Free SHS policy, with an average annual allocation of GH¢1.84 billion.

“Budget credibility has been on a continuous decline since 2018/19. Financial Burden Analysis of the free SHS Policy and Implications on Equitable Access academic year – from 120 percent in the 2017/18 academic year to 99 percent in the 2018/19 academic year, 76 percent in 2019/20, and 58 percent in 2020/21. In 2021/22, the lowest rate of 51 percent of approved funds was spent,” an excerpt of the report added.

Eduwatch recommended to the Ministry of Education (MoE) that in the short term, the focus of the free SHS policy should be directed towards addressing the needs of students from the most economically disadvantaged households.

They proposed leveraging data from the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme as a starting point for this initiative.

Below is the full report

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• Free SHS: Parents opting for boarding status for children must pay – EduWatch

It suggested that, parents who choose to enroll their children in boarding facilities should bear the associated costs.

In a report titled: ‘Financial Burden Analysis of the Free SHS Policy and Implications on Equitable Access,’ EduWatch proposed that free boarding secondary education be specifically designated for students in marginalized communities.

The study, conducted by Africa Education Watch (Eduwatch) in collaboration with Oxfam under the DANIDA Strategic Partnership II Project, said allowing parents to contribute financially would enable the government to generate additional revenue to support the Free SHS program.

“In the medium-to-long-term, the MoE must develop and implement a strategy to gradually transition Ghana’s secondary education system from the current boarding-as-a-norm to day-as-norm. Free boarding secondary education should be reserved strategically for students in underserved communities where there is no reasonable commutable access to a secondary school. However, parents, who in spite of an opportunity for their wards to be day students for free, still decide to opt for boarding status must pay for its full cost.”

Additionally, the study recommended that the government improve the distribution of funds allocated for the Free SHS program to enhance the quality of teaching and learning.

“The MoF must improve the disbursement of funds under the free SHS policy. The timely availability of funds (especially at the school level) to procure. items that were previously ‘smuggled’ into prospectus, is critical to sustain compliance with the current moderate, harmonised prospectus. This will also improve the availability of adequate foodstuffs and other Teaching and Learning Resources in schools to reduce the financial burden on some parents to supply provisions to their wards in school” he added.

They have suggested it should be done either through virtual or face-to-face school.

Their proposal is in line with comments by private legal practitioner, Professor Kwaku that the candidates did not fail but were denied access to the law school due to lack of space.

The 2021 entrance exam saw 28 percent of the LLB candidates gain entrance to Ghana’s only institution for training lawyers.

The applicants were examined on six subject areas that were: Constitutional Law, Immovable Property, Contract Law, Tort, Criminal Law, and the Ghana Legal System.

Some 790 out of 2,824 candidates passed the exam which was organised in August.

The pass rate is in line with previous records, except for 2020, where 1,045 students out of 2,763 passed.

The re-occurring incident has sparked rage among a section of applicants amid claims most of the people denied admissions clocked the 50 pass mark.

Africa Watch, in a statement, opined the action contradicts the government’s agenda of doubling tertiary enrolment by 2030 and creating equal career opportunities.

They argued the action by the Council to deny the students access to legal education is unfair and cannot be justified, hence their proposal.

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Meanwhile, the National Union of Ghana Students and Member of Parliament for Madina, Francis Xavier Sosu, have petitioned the Speaker of Parliament to order a probe of the mass failure and ensure the applicants who passed are admitted.

Read the full statement below:

Admit the 499 – Eduwatch to Ghana Law School by Gertrude Otchere on Scribd

This comes after the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) disclosed that two papers; Physics and Business Management have been rescheduled over possible leakage.

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, the Head of the Council’s Test Administration Division at WAEC, George Ohene-Mantey, said a new date will be communicated in due course.

Speaking with Aisha Ibrahim on the Pulse show on Joynews, Executive Director of Africa Education Watch, Kofi Asare, said they have provided the CID with evidence to investigate the source of the leakage.

“We have been in discussions with the CID since yesterday because we are monitoring the WASSCE and the activities of question marketers and people doing the business on the ground for over one month before WASSCE started.

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“We bought the questions 10 hours to the exams and we have given all the evidence we have to the CID to investigate. Our interest is those bad elements within WAEC system who are taking advantage of their position are dealt with,” he said.

He added that these leakages are not only prevalent in Ghana but in other African countries as well.

This comes on the back of Africa Watch’s report on the assessment of the 2020 West African Secondary Schools Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

The Think Tank, among other things noted, their investigations revealed that question papers for the exams were leaked to candidates.

The Executive Director, Kofi Asare, said these question papers were sent from WAEC’s IT department to other online platforms which were subsequently forwarded to his outfit by a member on the platform.

But the Head of the Legal Department at WAEC, Rev Victor Brew at a press conference on Tuesday described the report as inaccurate.

Though he did not give any actual timelines, he stated Ghanaians should not be surprised if they hear of the lawsuit as that cannot be ruled out of their options.

“All options are on the table including a legal suit. These are things that management has to first strategise on. Don’t be surprised if you hear of it in the coming days but I can’t tell the actual date this will happen,” he cautioned.

The Head of Public Affairs at WAEC, Agnes Tei-Cudjoe, also fought of claims that the outfit was contacted over the group’s investigation as she spoke of recommendations proposed.

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“The report recommends an internet-based encrypted email system which sends questions 30 minutes ahead of time to exam centers by which time candidates are to be seated. It is easier to write this than to implement it.

“That is why we insist that Arica Education Watch did not engage us, if they did, they would have understood better our processes and procedures and come out with more feasible recommendations,” she said.

Meanwhile, she added though the outfit is open to recommendations, their feasibility are also important.

His assertion comes on the back of the annual leakage of West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) questions allegedly by some staff of the West African Examination Council (WAEC) to students.

According to him, entrance exam previously conducted by universities was due to the lack of confidence and trust in WASSCE certificates issued by the examination body.

Speaking in an interview on Adom TV’s Nnawotwi Yi on Saturday morning, Mr Asare suggested that other assessment bodies aside WAEC, be allowed to assess students on examinations.

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He argued that WAEC, due to the lack of competition from other assessment bodies, has relaxed as the body by itself is a regulator and a service provider.

This, he says, has affected the quality of examinations conducted by the body.

Mr Asare also suggested that an independent regulatory body be set up to regulate WAEC to restore confidence in the examination body.

“They set their own standards and appraise themselves which shouldn’t be so,” he posited.