St. Andrews Senior High School in Assin Fosu will celebrate its 20th anniversary from July 14 to 20, 2025, with a landmark event that promises to blend reflection with national policy discourse.
This year’s celebration is themed “The Inclusion of Private SHS in the Free Education Program: A Mirage or Reality,” and will culminate in a grand Speech and Prize-Giving Day.
The week-long anniversary is poised to be one of the region’s most significant educational gatherings, bringing together thought leaders, policymakers, educators, and political figures to examine the evolving role of private senior high schools within Ghana’s Free SHS policy framework.
This national conversation comes at a pivotal moment, following the Ministry of Education’s recent decision to include 25 private SHSs in the 2025 Computerized School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS). The move marks the first time private institutions are being allowed to benefit from the government’s Free SHS program, a decision widely interpreted as an effort to ease pressure on public schools while expanding equitable access to education.
The celebration will be attended by high-profile dignitaries, including the Minister of Education, Hon. Haruna Iddrisu, who will deliver the keynote address. The event will be chaired by Prof. G.K.T. Oduro, Technical Advisor to the Education Ministry. Also expected is Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, whose presence underlines the financial dimensions of sustaining educational reforms.
Other invited guests include Prof. Eric Nkansah, Director-General of the Ghana Education Service, and Hon. Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), reflecting the broad stakeholder interest in shaping the future of Ghana’s education policy.
While the inclusion of private schools in the Free SHS scheme has been hailed by some as a forward-thinking initiative, it has also sparked debate around sustainability, resource distribution, and the boundaries of public-private partnerships in education. National figures such as the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, have proposed a hybrid approach in which parents who can afford to contribute financially to their children’s education should be encouraged to do so, to lessen the fiscal burden on the state.
As St. Andrews SHS marks two decades of academic distinction and character development, the anniversary will go beyond commemoration. It will serve as a platform for a vital national dialogue at a time when Ghana’s education sector stands at a defining crossroads.
The outcomes from these discussions are expected to inform and enrich national strategies aimed at enhancing access, quality, and equity in secondary education, ensuring that future generations benefit from a system that is inclusive, resilient, and financially sustainable.
