President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has belittled the promise by former President John Dramani Mahama to review the Free SHS policy in order to better it.
Mincing no words, the president ran down the credibility of his predecessor who is seeking re-election with regards to the Free SHS policy.
The former president who prior to the 2016 elections had preferred a progressively free education over the outright free education as proposed by then candidate Akufo-Addo, believes he can better manage the policy.
Mr. Mahama has suggested that the Free SHS policy as implemented by the NPP administration was a disguise of his progressively free senior high school education.
But President Akufo-Addo took a swipe at him on that score when he addressed the launch of the NPP 2020 manifesto at the University of Cape Coast in the Central region on Saturday, August 22, 2020.
“The Free SHS policy was not easily done and so we intend to protect it and prevent any so called review; ie another word for cancellation. We have no reason to believe the NDC presidential candidate’s newly proclaimed conversion to Free SHS and Free TVET.”
“For eight years, he and his party were loud in their assertions that they did not believe in the Free SHS and Free TVET programmes. They did not like the idea, they rubbished it at every opportunity and they proclaimed that it would destroy Ghana’s educational system.
“When they were in office, they had a hard time trying to run even the watered down version of their so-called progressively free education.
“Then the former president said he will review it, now we hear him say it has come to stay.
“Your excellency, please try another one. Your credibility on this one is zero, Free SHS and Free TVET cannot be trusted in your hands,” President Akufo-Addo emphasized.
Meanwhile, the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has given highlights of what the next NPP government under Nana Akufo-Addo holds for the country.
He mentioned the establishment of a National Rental Assistance Scheme to offer loans to workers to pay for their rent advance; construction of airport and harbour at Cape Coast; abolishment of guarantors for students who want to access students loan; accelerated growth of the agricultural sector among others.
