Akufo-Addo approves free SHS Bill; to be submitted for consideration by Parliament next week – Afenyo-Markin

The Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, is to present to Parliament the free Senior High School (SHS) Bill in coming days, the Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has announced.

This follows an executive approval by President Akufo-Addo.

Two weeks ago, the Majority Leader said the chapter of the Constitution that provides for free education has aspirational indicatives, which are not justiciable.

Buttressing the essence of enacting a law on the free SHS programme, Mr Afenyo-Markin said there were provisions in the Constitution that could not be enforced and “you cannot claim the right to those provisions”.

He explained that the fact that those provisions existed did not mean that “you can apply to the court to enforce those rights as they are merely aspirational.”

“Now, when it gets to the point where a government lifts it to give life to it, there is the need to enact a law to regulate same. In doing so, it would have been given life to become justiciable to allow a court to rely on it to make orders, enforce certain rights and take certain actions,” he explained.

He, therefore, expressed the hope for the House to pass the bill which would make the free SHS policy enforceable, regardless of the government in power.

Speaking in parliament on Friday, June 21 on the business statement for the ensuing week, the Effutu MP said; “We have some very important bills, the affirmative action bill, the national service authority bill, we also have the all-important free SHS bill which has received executive approval and it’s on its way to this house. I want to urge colleagues that we are in this together,” he noted.