Government set to present Free SHS Bill to Parliament.

Government set to present Free SHS Bill to Parliament.

In the next few days, the government will present the Free Senior High School (SHS) Bill to Parliament in an effort to control and guarantee the policy's viability.

Concerns about prospective policy cancellations by next governments and the program's difficulties, prompted this action.

In keeping with the provisions expressed in Chapter 5 of the Constitution, the proposed measure aims to establish the stability and efficacy of the Free SHS programme. The need of taking this action to stop any future administration from ending the programme was stressed by Mr. Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin, the majority leader and leader of government business in parliament.

He explained that while the provisions in Chapter 5 are currently not enforceable by law, the government aims to make them justifiable through legislation. He stated, “The chapter five of the Constitution provides some aspirational indicatives. Those are not justiciable, but once by a policy of the government, an aspiration as a message by the constitution is put into action then to make it justiciable, you enact.”

Related link: Free SHS Policy is a success - Akufo-Addo.

In order to protect Ghana's youth's educational future, Afenyo-Markin called for Members of Parliament (MPs) to actively engage in the legislative process and emphasised the significance of the Free SHS Bill. Additionally, he urged support for a number of government-business initiatives aimed at raising Ghanaians' level of life.

A number of legislations, including the Ghana National Service Authority Bill, 2024, the Community Service Sentencing Bill, 2024, the Energy Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and the Ghana Book Development Agency Bill, 2024, are among the top priorities for the House to discuss.

The University for Health, Agriculture and Life Sciences (Kintampo) Bill, the University of Mampong Bill, the University of Sports and Development Bill, the Colleges of Applied Arts, Science and Technology Bill, the Business Regulatory Reform Commission Bill, and the Conduct of Public Officers Bill are among the other bills that need to be addressed.

Related link: Free SHS is putting a strain on National Budget - Otumfuo.

In addition, the House ought to lay and consider certain statutory reports, such as the 2023 Annual Report on the Management of Energy Sector Levies and Accounts, the 2023 Annual Report on Public Debt Management, the 2023 Reconciliation Report on the Petroleum Holding Fund, and the 2023 Annual Report on Public Private Partnership Projects.

Also Read: Protecting the flock of the church; confronting pastoral abuse.

Source: HR Forum News