Administrator of the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC), Rashid Tanko-Computer, has attributed some of the challenges that confronted Ghana’s education sector to the failure to sustain investments in infrastructure following the introduction of the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) programme.
According to him, the rapid expansion in enrolment under Free SHS placed significant pressure on existing educational infrastructure, making the completion and expansion of projects such as the community day Senior High Schools, popularly known as e-blocks, critical to addressing the resulting gaps.
Tanko-Computer argued that the infrastructure challenge became particularly pronounced in the period leading to the 2024 general elections, when many parents complained about their children spending extended periods at home due to disruptions within the education system.
Speaking in an interview with TV3 Ghana on Tuesday, September 8, he said his own family experienced the difficulties associated with prolonged periods away from school.
“I had to find someone to teach my child in the house because they were always home for three months,” he said.
He maintained that the e-blocks were originally conceived to complement the expansion of access under Free SHS and help bridge infrastructure inequalities across the country.
“When we rolled out the Free SHS, we told them about infrastructure. So when we introduced these e-blocks, they were meant to help bridge the gap in access, but they came and stopped them,” he said.
Tanko-Computer further criticised the failure to continue the construction of the e-blocks during the previous eight-year period, arguing that sustained investment in educational infrastructure was necessary to match the growing demand for secondary education.
He consequently urged Ghanaians to appreciate what he described as the significance of the change in government in 2024, suggesting that President John Dramani Mahama’s return to office provided an opportunity to address some of the accumulated challenges in the education sector.
“Ghanaians should be grateful for voting President John Dramani Mahama back into office; otherwise, our educational system would have collapsed,” he said.
His comments come amid continuing debates over the sustainability of Free SHS and the need for government to expand infrastructure, improve learning conditions and ensure that increased access to secondary education is matched by adequate facilities.
Tanko-Computer’s argument centres on the need for long-term investment in schools, particularly infrastructure that can accommodate growing enrolment and reduce pressure on existing facilities.
He said the country’s experience should reinforce the importance of maintaining major education projects across changes in political administration, particularly where such projects are intended to address long-standing gaps in access and capacity.
