The New Patriotic Party running mate, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has warned that the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) poses a significant threat to the country’s educational system.
Speaking at the Fosu Nursing Training College as part of his campaign tour in the Central Region, Dr. Prempeh, also known as ‘Napo’, reminded Ghanaians of the NDC’s poor record in the education sector.
“The future of the country is education, and the record of NDC in education is poor,” he said.
Dr. Prempeh, who supervised the implementation of the free Senior High School (SHS) policy as Minister of Education, highlighted the NDC’s failures in the education sector, including the cancellation of teacher and nursing trainee allowances, which had disastrous effects on affected students.
He also mentioned the “I won’t give you chalk episode” and how failure rates in schools soared under the NDC.
Dr. Prempeh claimed that over 40,000 school children could not get their results due to non-payment of school fees when the NDC was in power.
He warned that the NDC should not be allowed to get close to power again, as they would erode the massive gains made in the education sector under the NPP.
The free SHS policy, which was implemented by the NPP, has increased enrollment and benefited every student, Dr. Prempeh said.
He emphasized that the policy does not discriminate against anyone, and every school-going Ghanaian child has been benefiting from it, irrespective of their political, tribal, or social backgrounds.
Dr. Prempeh’s comments come as the NPP and NDC engage in a heated debate over their records in the education sector.
In 2016, the NDC, led by then-President John Mahama, promised to make education a priority, but their tenure was marked by controversies, including the cancellation of teacher and nursing trainee allowances.
The NPP, on the other hand, has implemented several initiatives aimed at improving the education sector, including the free SHS policy, which has been hailed as a game-changer.
However, the NDC has criticized the policy, saying it is unsustainable and has led to a decline in the quality of education.
Dr. Prempeh’s comments are likely to reignite the debate over the two parties’ records in the education sector, as the country prepares for the December 7 elections.
BY Daniel Bampoe