The Minister of Education, Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh, says former President John Mahama does not have the right to criticize the Free Senior High School policy of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government.
“What did Mahama’s Progressive free SHS bring to Ghanaians? His flagship programme was GH¢30 per student but he couldn’t even pay for a student, it’s not surprising because his government just left debts for us… When you (Mahama) were president you started with Progressive free SHS, for two years you couldn’t pay for your flagship programme.
“You couldn’t pay for Day students; 100,000 boarders you couldn’t pay… If he had asked himself about his failed programme he wouldn’t have stood in front of Ghanaians to tell those lies or say anything about the project”, the Education Minister said on Adom TV’s Morning Show “Badwam” Tuesday.
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Former President John Dramani Mahama had criticised the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for implementing a broad Free Senior High School (SHS) policy in a haste resultinng in the programme taking all government resources and stifling other developmental projects.
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“The problem this government is facing and it is in their own interest, is that, Free Senior High School is absorbing all the fiscal space they have and so almost every money you have, you are having to put it into Free Senior High School. So you can’t pay District Assemblies Common Fund, you can’t pay NHIS (National Health Insurance Scheme), you can’t pay GETFund (Ghana Education Trust Fund), you can’t pay other salaries and things because all your money is going into Free Senior High School,” Mr Mahama said on Saturday, 24 February 2018, during the Unity Walk organised by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) at Somanya in the Eastern region.
However, the education minister has given assurance that the Free SHS programme has come to stay and will not die.
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According to him, those predicting the fall of the Free SHS are not being truthful to Ghanaians.
“The government appreciates the fact that education is for the greatest freedom and will make sure it succeeds”, he said.
Dr. Prempeh said that the government’s commitment towards Free SHS has made it to develop a policy document.
He further called on the opposition NDC to prove him wrong by providing evidence of their flagship programme, whether it worked out successfully and also prove they didn’t leave any debt behind.
HOT AUDIO: You have no right to criticize Free SHS – Napo tells Mahama
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