More private schools available to absorb students under Free SHS - CHOPSS

The Conference of Heads of Private Secondary Schools (CHOPSS) has announced that additional private secondary schools are available to participate in the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy. In July 2025, the government expanded the Free SHS policy to include 60 private secondary schools across the country in a pilot integration program.

This move aimed to alleviate congestion in public secondary schools and ensure that more students have access to quality education, regardless of whether they attend public or private institutions. Kyei Baffour, the Head of Communications for CHOPSS, shared his thoughts on the matter during an interview on TV3's Daily Brief on August 31.

He stated that the decision has been beneficial, as some private schools had been underutilized in the past. However, Baffour also noted that several private schools still have unused facilities that could be utilized to support the education sector. "It has been helpful. At least, we have made fruitful use of the facilities of these private schools which were left unused," he explained.

"We still have more private schools still on standby, ready to absorb the rest of the students," he added. Baffour emphasized that the presence of these unused facilities presents an opportunity for the government to address secondary school capacity challenges without the immediate need for new infrastructure construction. He urged the government to consider expanding its collaboration with private secondary schools, leveraging the existing facilities to absorb more students.