Day Students Deserve Equal Support Under Free SHS and Free TVET – Seth Afum A. Dankwah

Concerns have been raised over the welfare of day students under Ghana’s Free Senior High School (Free SHS) and Free Technical and Vocational Education and Training (Free TVET) programmes, with calls for the government to review the support provided to students who live in hostels away from their families.

Seth Afum A. Dankwah of J. G. Knol Technical Institute in Adukrom, Akuapem, Eastern Region, argues that many students classified as day students are facing challenges similar to those of boarding students but do not receive the same level of government support.

In an article dated Friday, November 6, 2026, he said the current arrangement has created an unfair situation in which some day students struggle to meet their basic needs despite attending the same schools and receiving the same education as their boarding counterparts.

He explained that while boarding students receive free tuition, accommodation and three meals a day, day students generally receive tuition support and one meal, usually lunch, during school days.

According to him, the policy was initially based on the assumption that day students lived with their parents and could therefore depend on their families for breakfast and supper.

However, he believes that assumption no longer reflects the circumstances of many students across the country.

He noted that some students are admitted to schools located far from their hometowns and farming communities, leaving them with little choice but to rent rooms or stay in private hostels near their schools.

These students, he said, often live without their parents, guardians or close relatives, yet are still classified as day students and consequently miss out on the additional feeding and accommodation support provided to boarders.

Dankwah described the situation as particularly difficult for students whose parents struggle financially to pay for accommodation, food, water, electricity, cooking fuel and other necessities.

He painted a picture of the difference between the daily experiences of boarding students and day students living in hostels.

While boarding students wake up to breakfast provided by the state, attend classes, receive lunch and supper, and return to supervised dormitories, some day students reportedly begin their mornings without food because they have no money to purchase breakfast.

After receiving the one meal provided at school, they must find their own means of securing food and other necessities for the rest of the day.

He further observed that some of these students live in private hostels that are not under the direct supervision of school authorities, leaving them without the same level of security and monitoring available to boarding students.

The situation, he argued, places additional financial pressure on parents who may end up spending more on their children than parents whose wards have secured boarding places.

He questioned why government support should depend largely on whether a student is fortunate enough to obtain a boarding placement when both categories of students have passed the same Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and are pursuing the same educational goals.

Three major challenges facing day students

Dankwah identified welfare, discipline and safety, as well as attendance, as three major areas affected by the situation.

 Hunger and students’ welfare

He warned that hunger can negatively affect students’ ability to concentrate, participate in lessons and perform academically.

According to him, some students living in hostels report to school without breakfast and may struggle to secure food after receiving their school-provided lunch.

He added that some students are sometimes forced to seek financial assistance from teachers and their colleagues to meet their basic needs.

He stressed that expecting such students to perform academically at the same level as their peers without addressing their welfare challenges could undermine the objectives of Free SHS and Free TVET.

 Discipline and safety concerns

He also raised concerns about the safety of students living in private hostels outside school premises.

Unlike boarding students, whose movements and activities are monitored by housemasters and housemistresses, day students in private accommodation may not receive the same level of supervision.

He explained that some students could be exposed to negative influences, miss evening preparation sessions or engage in activities that may affect their academic performance and discipline.

He further argued that school authorities sometimes face criticism when incidents involving students occur in private hostels, even though those facilities are not under their direct control.

 Irregular attendance and possible dropouts

The financial difficulties associated with private accommodation could also affect school attendance, according to Dankwah.

He explained that when parents are unable to pay hostel rent or provide money for food and other necessities, some students may be forced to return to their hometowns or stay away from school.

Others may become irregular in attendance or be seen roaming around town during school hours.

He maintained that such situations should not automatically be interpreted as laziness or a lack of interest in education, arguing that financial hardship may be the actual reason behind their absence.

Three proposals to address the inequality

While acknowledging the importance of Free SHS and Free TVET, Dankwah emphasised that his concerns are not intended to undermine the programmes but to encourage government to make them more inclusive.

He proposed three measures that could improve the welfare of day students, particularly those living in hostels away from their families.

 Increase feeding support for day students

He called on the government to consider increasing the number of meals provided to day students from one to two per day.

He also suggested extending feeding support to weekends, particularly for students who can demonstrate that they live in hostels far from their homes and do not have family members to depend on for food.

He believes an additional meal could help reduce hunger and prevent some students from abandoning their education because of financial difficulties.

Introduce hostel or transport allowances

Dankwah further proposed the introduction of modest hostel allowances or transport support for day students who live far away from their families.

He argued that even a small but consistent financial allowance could help parents meet some of the costs associated with their children’s accommodation and daily movement.

He said such assistance could also improve school attendance and provide students with a more stable learning environment.

 Expand boarding infrastructure and equip technical workshops

He identified investment in school infrastructure as another important solution.

According to him, many schools lack sufficient dormitory facilities to accommodate students who would otherwise prefer boarding arrangements.

He therefore called for the construction of additional dormitories to reduce the number of students forced to seek accommodation in private hostels.

He also urged the government to invest in technical workshops and provide the necessary equipment to ensure that students in TVET institutions acquire practical skills that can prepare them for employment and entrepreneurship.

He stressed that properly equipped workshops would enable students to develop skills in building, repairing, creating and providing services that could contribute to national development.

Dankwah appealed to government, Members of Parliament, District Assemblies, the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), religious organisations, alumni groups, non-governmental organisations and philanthropists to pay greater attention to the challenges facing day students.

He urged stakeholders to consider the circumstances of students who leave their hometowns to pursue secondary and technical education but struggle to meet their basic needs because they do not have access to boarding facilities.

He maintained that although government may face financial constraints in providing identical support to every student, fairness should not necessarily mean giving everyone the same amount of money.

Rather, he argued that the focus should be on ensuring that every student receives the basic care and support needed to remain in school and complete their education.

He concluded that the success of Free SHS and Free TVET should not be measured only by the number of students admitted into second-cycle institutions but also by whether those students can access the necessary welfare support to complete their education.

His central message is that students should not be disadvantaged because of their admission status or the availability of boarding facilities.

Day students, he insists, are Ghanaians too and deserve attention, protection and support under the country’s free secondary and technical education programmes.