Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has described the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) programme introduced under former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as the most far-reaching social intervention implemented in Ghana’s Fourth Republic.

Speaking at the Young Commons Forum held at the University of Cape Coast on Saturday, February 21, the Effutu Member of Parliament said that despite the persistent public debate surrounding the policy, its impact on educational access across the country remains undeniable.

Afenyo-Markin said the initiative fundamentally altered the landscape of secondary education by opening doors to students who previously faced financial obstacles.

He noted that while public policies often attract criticism, the scale and reach of the Free SHS make it stand out as a defining legacy of the Akufo-Addo administration.

He argued that the programme’s transformative effect lies in the opportunities it has created for thousands of families, particularly those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

“The critics can be loud and say all they can about the Free SHS but by far, without arguments, it stands as the most emblematic social intervention of the Akufo-Addo administration. And without subjecting it to any further argument, the most consequential social intervention in Ghana’s Fourth Republic.

“By removing financial barriers at the secondary level, the policy drastically expanded access to education for thousands of students from low income households who would otherwise, would have been excluded from senior high school.”

The Free SHS programme was implemented in 2017, shortly after former President Akufo-Addo assumed office, as part of a broader commitment to reduce inequality in access to education and to build a more skilled and competitive workforce for the country.

Since its introduction, the policy has enabled hundreds of thousands of students to enrol in senior high schools nationwide, reshaping educational participation patterns and becoming one of the most recognisable initiatives of the administration.