President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has taunted the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) describing members as “politically motivated propagandists and naysayers” whose “demagoguery and opportunism will always be exposed”.
His comment was a direct reaction to the Minority in Parliament’s prediction that Senior High School (SHS) education in Ghana will collapse in five years if the challenges plaguing the Free SHS policy are not fixed.
The NDC has vehemently criticized the Akufo-Addo government’s flagship policy from its conception to its introduction as they postulate that it is a hoax.
Prior to the presentation of the 2018 budget statement, the NDC had argued that the policy is not sustainable as there is no guaranteed funding to support its implementation.
The government, in the 2018 budget statement, allocated an amount of GHc1 billion for the free SHS programme. The amount is three times higher than the GH¢400 million that was allocated to the programme in its first year of implementation in 2017.
Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, while presenting the budget statement to Parliament said government is also in the process of setting up a fund to receive voluntary contributions from individuals to support the implementation of the policy.
Contributing to a debate on the floor of Parliament, former Deputy Education Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, described the government’s budgetary allocation for Free SHS as woefully inadequate, adding that the challenges bedeviling SHS education under the policy are overwhelming and will cripple the schools soon.
Responding to the prediction in a Facebook post, President Akufo-Addo reiterated his commitment to seeing the policy succeed despite the challenges facing it and took a swipe at the NDC for being doomsayers.
“The politically motivated propagandists and naysayers, who, in the last few years, said that Free SHS was not possible, and could happen only after 20 years, are now singing a new tune. They now claim Free SHS is not sustainable, and will crash in 5 years. Let me burst their bubble again.
"Free SHS is here to stay, because leadership is about choices, and I have no doubt that the overwhelming majority of Ghanaians support the choice that I have made. They recognise the importance of the investment we are making in the youth and in the future of our country. The investment will be sustained.
“I continue to be puzzled as to the vehemence with which so-called social democrats oppose or attempt to undermine measures designed to address poverty. Their demagoguery and opportunism will always be exposed,” his post read.
Meanwhile, the President has announced that contracts will soon be awarded for the provision of 69,500 single desks and 13,100 bunk beds to Senior High Schools across the country.
This move, according to him, is expected to address the furniture deficit in a number of schools as part of his administration’s commitment to dealing with the challenges in the implementation of the Free Senior High School policy.
Source: Ghanaweb.com
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Predictions are not certainties. But if the source of the major sustainer of the policy which is funding is not clear people will be bound to make predictions. Mr President take these criticisms in good faith and provide a clear source of funding. You are capable. Bold decisions must come along with bold planning. Stop castigating the minority for their criticisms they are doing their job you were doing few month ago.
@ adusj. GOOD THOUGHT. YOU SEE WE LEAVE IN A SYSTEM WHERE SOME PEOPLE ARE BACKYARDERS NO MATTER THE PROGRESS ONE MAKES THEIR RETROGRESSIVE NORMS TRIES TO DISSUADE OTHERS FROM PROGRESSING.NO NO WAY. THEIR MANTRA OF ONE HOUSE ONE TOILET ARE GONE FOREVER.A HOUSE WITH TWO TOILETS IT'S SIMPLY CLEANLINESS. DECEIVERS AND DESTROYERS WILL BE WIPED OF THE SURFACE OF MOTHER GHANA.ONLY TIME WILL TELL.
NDC has nothing good for this country, a bunch of cr1minals who love to see majority of Ghanaians being ill1terate so they can lie and deceive them. They represent the dev1l on earth, if it were to be luuting of state resource they would be all for it, kwashia buuuului
SHALLOW THINKING DUDE. YOU WILL NEVER KNOW PROGRESS IN YOUR ENTIRE SORRY LIFE IF THIS IS YOUR WAY OF THINKING. YOU MUST BE AN NDC, RIGHT? I THOUIGHT AS MUCH!
Did ndc think of building schools before their so called progressively Free SHS? if they had built their awam 200 community day SHS Ghanaians would have no problem with SHS infrastructure but the money went into their pockets instead of the people and they have the guts to complain and ask st*pid questions like somebody is accountable to them. President Kuffuor left a lower middle income economy to the ndc nation wreckers, and ndc left HIPIC to President Akufo Addo and they as evil and wicked as their master Satan turn to accuse others who are putting things right for Ghanaians to have a good life. Such are the people among Ghanaians,real opportunists and parasites.
Can imagine if John Mahama was the one who introduced free shs and is now telling Ghanaians that he is now awarding desks contracts, what nana addo and barwumia would be said? They would have gone into all dictionaries to find every bad word to describe him. Yet we have people who are still supporting nana addo blindly even if he is taking the wrong step. If you throw a ball against the wall it bounces back to you. Incompetent nana addo.
as long as we have good people and also armed robbers in the country,there will be a section of people who oppose FRRE SHS.
You cannot have all the things before you embark on any future project. As determined person you solve things whilst they come. We started life learning how to walk before we got shoes and we are doing okey. Some started learning under trees and now they are okey. Those who always do not want people to rise up always find fault in anything that is associated with their development. Nana God bless you and your government!
What competence of a president! He introduces free she before thinking about desks and other vital logistics. What a shame! Why didn't you ensure that there were enough classrooms, desks, teaching and learning materials before implementing the policy. After all you have four year mandate, so if you and your ediott vice president who claimed are competent had planned well you wouldn't wait until now to say you are going to award contract for production of desks, meaning in the mean time students should sitting on your wife's back side to learn. What a super incompetent leader.
Prez ignore NDC and move fast in resolving the major challenges of Free SHS. Sch term is running fast. Don't be distracted by NDC they are up to no good.