‘Why are we here if you fixed it?’ — Iddrisu challenges Adutwum over Free SHS infrastructure
Haruna Iddrisu questions his predecessor’s record as overcrowding and placement pressures persist despite Free SHS.
Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu has challenged former Education Minister Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum to explain why Ghana continues to grapple with infrastructure and placement pressures if the previous administration had successfully resolved the challenges confronting the education sector.
“Why are we here if you fixed it?” Mr Iddrisu asked, in a pointed response to claims that the previous administration had addressed major challenges in the education sector.
The Minister, however, acknowledged that the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) policy significantly expanded access to secondary education, describing that achievement as an important development in Ghana's education system.
His concern, he said, was that the expansion in enrolment was not matched by adequate investment in school infrastructure.
Free SHS expanded access
Mr Iddrisu said the introduction and expansion of Free SHS enabled thousands more Ghanaian children to access secondary education.
However, he argued that the rapid growth in enrolment placed enormous pressure on existing facilities.
According to him, schools were forced to operate under difficult conditions, including pressure on classrooms, dining facilities and other essential infrastructure.
He said the situation contributed to the introduction of the double-track system, which was used to accommodate increased student numbers within existing school infrastructure.
The Minister said the challenge was therefore not simply about expanding access but ensuring that the physical capacity of schools grew alongside enrolment.
‘Why are we here?’
Mr Iddrisu's comments were directed at Dr Adutwum, who served as Education Minister under the previous administration and was closely associated with reforms in STEM education and the implementation of education policies.
“If he fixed the challenges, why are we here?” Mr Iddrisu asked.
He argued that the continued pressure on senior high schools, particularly during the placement exercise, demonstrated that significant structural problems remained.
The Minister said government had inherited an education system facing substantial infrastructure needs and that resolving those challenges would require sustained investment rather than short-term interventions.
Category A pressure
Mr Iddrisu said one of the clearest manifestations of the problem was the intense competition for places in Category A schools.
He explained that Ghana had sufficient SHS vacancies overall, but demand was heavily concentrated on a relatively small number of highly sought-after schools.
He said more than 300,000 students had sought places in Category A schools, against roughly 76,000 available spaces.
That imbalance, he said, had contributed significantly to the current pressure on the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS).
Government is consequently planning to construct 10 new model Category A schools, while also considering the upgrading of selected Category B schools.
Infrastructure at the centre of response
Mr Iddrisu said the government was placing infrastructure expansion at the centre of its response to the education challenges.
He said resources were being mobilised to expand selected existing schools and create new institutions capable of absorbing growing demand.
He also said the government was seeking external support for major education infrastructure projects.
The Minister said he had made a case for education infrastructure to benefit from President John Mahama's Big Push infrastructure initiative.
He argued that the country's education infrastructure deficit could not be solved within a short period and that government would need to pursue both conventional construction and, where appropriate, modular or prefabricated facilities.
Adutwum’s STEM legacy
Despite his criticism of the previous administration's infrastructure planning, Mr Iddrisu acknowledged that Dr Adutwum's emphasis on STEM education was important.
He said Ghana needed to prepare its young people for a technology-driven economy and indicated that the government was developing a broader STEM policy.
The proposed reforms include introducing artificial intelligence, coding, robotics and electronics from Kindergarten through Primary Six, subject to the necessary approval processes.
This, he said, would help move Ghanaian education beyond traditional academic learning and equip children with skills relevant to the future economy.
From access to quality
Mr Iddrisu said the next phase of education policy must focus not only on getting children into school but also on ensuring that they learn in safe and properly equipped environments.
He said quality assurance, teacher professionalism and infrastructure development were therefore central to the government's education agenda.
The Minister maintained that the success of Free SHS should not be measured solely by the number of students admitted into secondary school.
The quality of facilities, teaching and learning must also be considered, he said.
A difficult transition
The debate over Free SHS comes as government confronts continued pressure on secondary-school placement and infrastructure.
While the policy has substantially increased access, the Minister's argument is that the expansion created infrastructure demands that were not adequately anticipated or addressed.
His challenge to his predecessor therefore goes beyond political rhetoric.
It raises a fundamental question about Ghana's education policy: Can the country sustain universal access to secondary education without simultaneously expanding the infrastructure and quality systems required to support it?
For Mr Iddrisu, the government's response is to expand school infrastructure, improve quality assurance and redesign the education system to prepare Ghanaian children for a rapidly changing world.