70 Private Senior High Schools Demand Immediate Payment of Free SHS Subsidy Arrears from Government

Seventy private Senior High Schools (SHSs) participating in the government’s flagship Free Senior High School (SHS) pilot programme are calling for the immediate release of overdue subsidies. These institutions, which partnered with the government to expand access to secondary education, report that they have yet to receive payments for the 2025/2026 academic year. With the current academic cycle drawing to a close, school administrators warn that the persistent lack of funding is severely hampering their daily operations and threatening their financial sustainability. The situation has reached a critical point, leaving many proprietors struggling to bridge the gap created by the missing state support.

The arrears specifically cover essential costs, including student meals and general operational expenses necessary to maintain the standards required by the Ghana Education Service. According to the Conference of Heads and Proprietors of Private Secondary Schools (CHOPSS), the delay has created a significant financial bottleneck across the 70 affected institutions. Many of these schools rely heavily on these government transfers to pay food suppliers, utility bills, and teaching staff. A spokesperson for CHOPSS emphasized that the prolonged non-payment has placed an unfair burden on private proprietors who integrated their facilities into the national program to assist in managing the high enrollment numbers seen in recent years.

The timing of the delay is particularly detrimental as schools begin the logistical process of preparing for the upcoming academic year. Without the settlement of these outstanding arrears, many institutions fear they will be unable to procure necessary resources or perform facility maintenance during the transition period. The leadership of these schools has formally urged the Ministry of Education and the government to prioritize the release of these funds to safeguard the public-private partnership. As the academic calendar concludes, the focus remains on whether the government will act swiftly to clear the debts and ensure the continued participation of private schools in the Free SHS initiative.