Audio Attachment:Listen to Nana Addo |
Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, brought clarity to his signature promise of free Senior High School (SHS) Education under his presidency on Tuesday, when he spelt out how much his policy will cost the nation.
According to Nana Addo, the �additional cost of providing Free Senior High School will be around 1% of Ghana�s GDP. The cost of providing free secondary school education, which includes tuition, boarding, feeding and all the other charges for the 2013-2014 academic year, is estimated at 0.1% of our GDP. This translates into some GH�78 million.�
Revealing technical details of the policy which some including the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) and policy think-tank, IMANI-Ghana, have described as unrealistic and utopian, when he took his turn at the 2nd Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) organised encounter with the public Tuesday, Nana Addo promised to redefine basic education and make it compulsory from Kindergarten to Senior High School, and pledged to remove the biggest obstacles that currently hinder the realization of his campaign promise: cost and access.
The NPP leader further stated that in addition to tuition and other costs already being borne by government, "admission, library, computer, science centre and examination fees will all be free".
�So will boarding, feeding and entertainment fees, along with textbooks and utilities. In order to ensure equity, day students will also be fed at school free of charge. Free secondary school education will cover Technical and Vocational institutions,� Nana Addo said.
Whiles admitting that it will not be a feat that can be achieved easily, the NPP leader said he believes in cooking the expensive meals in important pots and reiterated his desire to prioritize education in order to curb poverty in the country rather than spend those monies in the payment of judgement debts.
�I know this will be expensive. But, as the Ewe saying has it, �you cook important foods in important pots.� The cost of providing free secondary school education will be cheaper than the cost of the current alternative of a largely uneducated and unskilled workforce that retards our development. Leadership is about choices � I will choose to invest in the future of our youth and of our country.
The evening encounter is part of the IEA�s efforts to promote issue-based elections and deepen multiparty democracy in the country.
Nana Addo happens to be the third Presidential candidate to sell his vision to the Ghanaian electorate through the IEA platform.
The Evening Encounter has already seen the flag bearers of the People�s National Convention (PNC), Hassan Ayariga and the Convention People�s Party (CPP), Abu Sakara Foster taking their turn and explaining to Ghanaians why they should be elected president of the nation in the December polls.
The NPP Presidential Candidate disclosed that his party has also made provision for the additional cost that will come with the increase in enrollment should the policy take root.
�Fellow citizens�We have made provision for a major increase in enrollment as a result of admitting all JHS students into SHS in 2014-2015. We expect the cost to rise to GH�288 million (0.3% of GDP) in that academic year and increase to GH�774 million in 2015-2016 (0.7% of GDP). Additional expenditure on more teachers, infrastructure for schools, including expanding and rehabilitating existing infrastructure, and establishing cluster schools in areas where there are no Senior High Schools, will bring the total cost to GH�755 million (0.9% of GDP) in 2013 and rise to GH�1.45 billion (1.3% of GDP) in 2016. Providing free secondary education will increase the total educational expenditure from the 4.1% of GDP in 2012 to 5.8% by 2016, a figure which is still below the UNESCO minimum of 6%. I am prepared to go beyond that in order to improve quality at all levels � Primary, JHS, SHS, and Tertiary," he said.
Still on education, the NPP Presidential candidate cited Malaysia, South Korea, Norway and Japan, among other countries, which do not necessarily have natural resources but have developed their human capital for the benefit of their countries.
According to him, some African countries such as Kenya spend 6.7%; South Africa, 6%; and Lesotho, 13% of their GDP on education and wondered why Ghana cannot do same if such countries have been able to succeed in those areas.
�We may be able to beat them at football, but not in education. Let me put this into context; the NDC admits to paying out some GH�640 million, equivalent to 1.4% of Ghana's 2010 GDP, as judgement debts. Are we telling parents and their children that a Ghana that can afford to spend 1.4% of its income on judgement debts cannot afford to spend an additional 1.3% of its income on giving its children free secondary education?� he rhetorically asked.
He also revealed how the free SHS education policy will be funded.
�We know how to fund it. A percentage of the oil revenues allocated to the Ghana National Petroleum Company, and for the funding of the budget, as well as a greater percentage from GETFund, will be used to finance the programme,� he added.
The NPP Flagbearer, who believed all his plans are feasible with the enthusiastic support of a well-trained and motivated teaching workforce, pledged to put in measures that will �attract, train and retain young professionals into the teaching profession�.
�We do not have enough teachers and many are not happy with their lot. Last year, the Minister for Education said there was a 60,000-teacher deficit in the country. The NPP will attract, train and retain young professionals into the teaching profession. We will make it easier for teachers to upgrade their skills, improve their status and provide them with incentives. For example, any teacher with 10 or more years of service will be eligible for a mortgage scheme, supported by government, for a home anywhere in the country. We shall endeavour to make teaching in the rural areas, in particular, less stressful by providing accommodation and transportation�An Akufo-Addo presidency, God-willing, will introduce a Teacher First policy to give teachers the recognition they deserve. Free education must be achieved, hand in hand, with quality education and we shall work with the religious bodies to ensure equal weight is attached to the moral upbringing of our children. We also acknowledge the important work the private schools are doing, and we will work with them to improve delivery,� he assured.
Source: Nana Kwadwo Asante/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. |