Giving parents the choice to pay school fees for their wards under the Free Senior High School Program, according to Dennis Appiah Larbi-Ampofo, President of the National Union of Ghana Students, will foster classism in classrooms.
On sikabahitzmedia' AM Show, Mr. Larbi-Ampofo suggested that the administration not consider such a course of action.
When some parents cannot afford the fees, he bemoaned the extent of classism that already defines the customary supplementary lessons.
He claims that should the choice be implemented, the way kids are treated will change.
"Classism will exist. Now, those whose parents are paying and those whose parents are not paying will be treated in various ways.
Even in secondary school, we witnessed how teachers treated students who attended and paid for their extra lessons against those who did not, he added.
Although the alternative is a "great idea," the Union President acknowledged that the nation is not prepared for it.
Though conceptually excellent, this nation is not prepared for that. Let's not even discuss it," he continued.
A use of the option, he further cautioned, would "drive our country into an apartheid system of a sort where individuals who pay for Free SHS are treated in a different way."
The Free SHS program has come under heavy fire recently, with some people questioning the caliber of the human resources produced as a result of the policy.According to reports, schools lack the necessary infrastructure to house the vast majority of program participants.
People and organizations have meanwhile urged the government to reassess the strategy in order to reduce the astronomical amounts of funding going to the program.
