Kojo Oppong Nkrumah
The Opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) plans to collapse the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) policy and introduce means testing, according to Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Vice Chairman of the 2024 New Patriotic Party (NPP) Manifesto Committee and Minister for Works & Housing.
This move would make access to free secondary education no longer universal and free for all.
NDC’s Education Strategic Plan
Oppong Nkrumah cited the NDC’s Education Strategic Plan, authored by former Education Minister Betty Mould Iddrisu, which proposes that children from poor families engage in hard labor, such as cooking and cleaning, to fund their secondary education.
The plan also suggests giving loans to needy students and implementing student self-help schemes.
Consequences of NDC’s Plan
According to Oppong Nkrumah, the NDC’s plan would lead to corruption and discrimination, requiring parents to have connections with senior government officials to secure free education for their children.
He emphasized that the NPP’s view is that education should be available to every Ghanaian child, regardless of financial or political background.
NPP’s Commitment to Free SHS
Since introducing Free SHS in 2017, the policy has benefited 5.7 million Ghanaian children, saving millions of households an average of GHC 3,500.
Oppong Nkrumah assured that the NPP would protect and improve the policy, making public schools free for all Ghanaians.
The Future of Free SHS
Oppong Nkrumah warned that voting for the NDC would mean applying means testing, potentially denying free education to those without connections.
In contrast, he stated that Dr. Bawumia and the NPP would protect and improve the policy, ensuring every Ghanaian child accesses free public secondary education.
BY Daniel Bampoe