The policy is undoubtedly, the number one flagship programme of the Akufo-Addo’s government and has rightly been adjudged by many educationists as the greatest social intervention in the [ads1]nation’s educational sector since independence.
It is the policy that is helping secure the future of thousands of our younger brothers and sisters who would have prematurely ended their education upon completion of JHS because of financial challenges.
It is a life-saving policy that is ultimately going to secure the future of our country because there CANNOT be any substitute for education. Leadership is indeed about choices; whereas President Akufo-Addo thinks investing in Free SHS by whatever means is the way to go, John Mahama thinks otherwise. The former President has articulated his position on this subject over the weekend in Tarkwa after an NDC “unity walk”.
Mahama tells us that because the implementation of the policy has been fraught with a myriad of challenges, we should do away with it. This is in spite of the fact that these challenges are not insurmountable. But John Mahama would have none of that, as he maintains that the policy should be CANCELED entirely because of the foregoing infrastructure challenges in particular. As far as Mahama is concerned, if your hand is paining you, you don’t take it to a doctor for medical attention, you cut it off. And so, if there’s problem with Free SHS implementation, you don’t fix it, you cancel the policy. That is the John Mahama model.
Interestingly, the same Mahama (H.E) told us that his government had revolved the infrastructure issues bedeviling second cycle education when they were in power with the construction of some 123 schools. In fact, Hon. Okudjeto Ablakwa is also on record to have said that the NPP’s Free SHS became possible because they [the NDC] had put up enough infrastructure in our schools. So, what has changed now? Have all the so called unprecedented infrastructure vanished because a different government is in office? Your guess is as good as mine.
Again, former President Mahama, whilst chiding the current government for “not doing broader consultation before rolling out the policy” stated that, it was not for nothing that the framers of our laws provide that it should take 15 years to fully implement Free SHS policy [I wonder which law he’s talking about]. He asked rhetorically that, “why does Akufo-Addo think that he can use one year to implement something our constitution says should be implemented in 15 years?”.
No further comment, except to say that the ball is now in our court, whether or not we should vote for John Mahama in 2020 [if he is courageous enough to contest again] and BID FAREWELL to Free SHS or we should trust the NPP to fix the problem and thus secure the future of the nation’s youth.
By IDDI MUHAYU-DEEN
#ForGodAndCountry