Ben Ali Seaman
A leading member of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Bab Constituency in the Western Region, Ben Ali Seaman, has stated that the government must do everything possible to leave a legacy of solid education for posterity.
He said the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia administration should use the Heritage Fund to sponsor the free SHS programme to help the poor in particular, because it would be a veritable initiative for the country.
The debate over how to secure funding to ensure smooth implementation of the project has intensified since the NPP administration announced that the free SHS would commence in earnest in the 2017/2018 academic year.
President Akufo-Addo has explained that “by free SHS, we mean that in addition to tuition which is already free, there will be no admission fee, no library fee, no science centre fee, no computer lab fee, no examination fee, and no utility fee; there will be free text books, free boarding and free meals, and day students will get a meal at school for free.”
Some senior government officials said that the government was considering financing the free education policy with a portion of Ghana’s oil revenue being kept for future generation, and that sparked heated debate, compelling the new finance minister to clear the air.
Ali Seaman told DAILY GUIDE that it would not be fair for politicians to continue to enjoy the national cake when there is a future to be secured for the next generation.
He disagreed with the opposition NDC that withdrawals from the Heritage Fund was likely to have a negative impact on the country’s reserves, value of the currency and destabilisation of the macro-economic and fiscal situation of the country.
Ben Ali Seaman added that many parents cannot give their children quality education due to the lack of money and that the government should be proactive in lessoning their burden.
“Once we are able to provide quality education for our children, the country’s future will be secured. We will not need to worry about what will happen, because they would have been equipped with the necessary skills to continue from the current generation,” he underscored.
By William Yaw Owusu