A former spokesperson for the Ministry of Education, Kwasi Kwarteng, has clarified concerns regarding the perceived discrepancy in the total number of beneficiaries under the Free Senior High School (SHS) programme.

According to Mr. Kwarteng, the figures referenced in the 2024 Budget Statement and the last State of the Nation Address by former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was based on a cumulative budgeting approach used by the Ministry of Finance for financial reporting.

“This approach counts each student as a separate beneficiary for every year they remain in school under the programme.

As a result, a student is counted three separate times over their three-year period in Senior High School,” he explained.

He emphasized that using annual enrollment figures from the Free SHS Secretariat, the accurate total number of beneficiaries under the programme stood at 3,511,733 as of 2024.

However, the former President in his last State of the Nation address to Parliament said the programme since 20217 has benefited over five million students who hitherto would not have had the opportunity to access education.    

This figure, he noted, aligns with official data from the Ministry of Education and reflects the actual number of students who have accessed the programme.

While addressing concerns over data interpretation, Mr. Kwarteng urged stakeholders to shift the focus toward expanding access to quality education for more Ghanaian children rather than engaging in debates over statistical methodologies.