The Ghana Education Service (GES) in the Western North Region has clarified discrepancies in reported figures for Senior High School student enrollment.
Contrary to the earlier announcement by the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) indicating 137,000 students yet to report, the GES states that 2,569 students are yet to enroll.
According to the Education Directorate, 11,989 out of the expected 14,558 candidates have picked up their admission slots, representing 82 percent enrollment.
Daniel Armah Ofori, the Public Relations Officer of GES in the Western North Region, emphasized ongoing efforts to achieve admission targets.
“The current enrollment is 11,989 students, which is about 82 percent, and so our remaining target to meet is 2,569 students. Although significant progress has been made with the enrollment rate, there is still work to be done to meet our set target,” said Ofori.
To address the remaining enrollment gap, the directorate has deployed circuit supervisors to create awareness and encourage parents to enroll their wards in schools.
Ofori stated, “Since we have about 3 percent to meet our target, we are ready to deploy our circuit supervisors to be on the ground to help parents and their wards understand the importance of education, and so most parents are now convinced to bring their wards to school.”
Nana Amo Amankwah, the President of CHASS in the Western North Region, urged students facing financial challenges to still enroll, emphasizing the availability of mattresses in schools and urging students not to be deterred by the prospectus items.
Meanwhile, a study by Africa Education Watch revealed that expenses incurred by parents on prospectuses and other items outweigh the costs covered by the government under the Free Senior High School program.
Parents reportedly spent GH¢2,477 on prospectuses and an additional GH¢4,000 on various personal items during the 2023/2024 academic year.
