A former General Secretary of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Nana Yaa Jantuah, has stated that while the National Democratic Congress (NDC) proposed policy to absorb level 100 fees for tertiary students should they win the election is a positive initiative.
She however believes that just like other policies in the education sector, it will face implementation challenges that may threaten sustainability.
According to her, any policy aimed at helping students’ access education is beneficial, noting that Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah initiated free education in the North and gradually extended it to other parts of the country before his tenure ended.
During the National Democratic Congress (NDC) launch of its Youth manifesto on August 12, its flagbearer, John Mahama stated that first-year tertiary students would not pay academic fees should he emerge president.
According to him, this is part of a government initiative to lessen the burden on parents financing the cost of their children’s education.
Nana Yaa Gyantuah, also a former Public Relations and External Affairs Director of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), pointed out that even the NPP implemented the Free SHS policy progressively, starting with the first year and then extending it to the second year.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile, she said, “This youth manifesto is a good initiative because it gives the youth a sense of acceptance and importance. For this initiative, I believe the initiative is good, but when I read it, there was no specificity to it. They said to scrap academic fees for level 100 students through the No Fees Stress initiative”.
Mrs Jantuah said that the NDC has limited the scope of its policy to only level 100 students.
She criticized this approach, stating that offering free fees exclusively to level 100 students is discriminatory, as it overlooks students in private schools, who are also part of the youth in this country.
“Governance and economic development are fundamental building blocks, and I believe that as governments come and go, everyone will contribute to building on these blocks.”
Source; Myjoyonline
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