President Nana Addo and his New Patriotic Party (NPP) have come under intense criticisms following their assurance of the implementation of the Free SHS policy.
This policy promised by the government during the 2016 electioneering entails free public senior high school education for all eligible Ghanaians from the 2017/2018 academic year -September 2017.
The policy when implemented will ensure that there will be no admission fees, no library fees, no science center fees, no computer laboratory fees, no examination fees, no utility fees and all the other charges.
There will also be free textbooks, free boarding and free meals and day students will get a meal at school for free. The president also said the policy will cover agricultural, vocational and technical institutions at the high school level.
See Also: Free SHS: Government Will Not Cater for Repeated Students
While this looks very attractive, some political stakeholders have attempted to warn the government against proceeding with the plan.
Former education minister under the Rawlings regime, Dr. Spio Garbrah is one of those who has frowned upon the policy which oppositions have predicted will have huge negative impact on the country’s economy.
Dr. Spio has however, presented his opinion in form of a mockery of government’s much-touted achievement. Speaking at the 17th Annual Delegates Congress of the University Students Association of Ghana, Mr. Garbrah argued that the free SHS policy is not achievable, describing it as an unwise venture in the world of business.
See Also: All About Nana Addo’s Controversial Education Policy Set to Commence September
He suggested that government should rather plug tax loopholes and use a chunk of the revenue to fund education.
According to him, Universities Internally Generated Funds alone are woefully inadequate for funding projects which is why authorities to be business oriented. He asked university authorities to build stadia, more conference halls and provide catering services to organizations.
The NPP has responded to loads of criticisms hurled at the party over the Free SHS policy. Former President John Agyekum Kufuor seems to have made a mockery of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for continually kicking against the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy.
Kufuor blasted the NDC government for reducing the SHS duration from four years to three years, claiming that the decision posed a threat to quality education that Ghanaians have been craving for.
The biggest opposition party he said, took that decision based on politics, as it (NDC) did not consider the huge benefits that the students would derive from the four-year duration.
He said even though the majority of Ghanaians have wholeheartedly embraced the policy and even hailed the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration, the NDC had surprisingly kicked against such a positive policy, which will boost Ghana’s growth.
He commended the presidency for the insistent belief in the program saying that such strong belief in policies is what would transform Ghana in the coming months.
The former president has called on all Ghanaians to embrace the Free SHS initiative and throw in their support to help President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo realize the vision of a free education.
