Fredrick Opare-Ansah, former Member of Parliament for Suhum and current Campaign Manager for the Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has hinted that the 2024 elections are crucial for the protection of the Free SHS policy.
Speaking at a mini rally walk at Akorabo, a suburb of the Suhum Constituency, Opare-Ansah warned that a vote against the NPP government would lead to the collapse of the policy.
He explained that the NDC, led by former President John Mahama, has been vocal in its criticism of the Free SHS policy.
However, Opare-Ansah argued that the opposition’s criticism is a smokescreen, as they have come to realize that Ghanaians have accepted the policy.
As Ghana inches closer to the December 7 general elections, the fate of the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) policy has become a contentious issue.
The policy, introduced by the Akufo-Addo government in 2017, has been a subject of debate, with the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) criticizing its implementation.
The Free SHS policy has been a game-changer in Ghana’s education sector, providing free secondary education to students who might otherwise struggle to afford it.
The policy has brought educational equity within reach, especially in rural communities where access to education has historically been limited.
The NPP government has initiated a Free SHS bill before Parliament, which is in line to be passed into law.
However, the NDC MPs have started to boycott parliamentary proceedings allegedly on the instructions of the NDC National Chairman, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, to prevent the bill, among others, from being passed.
The NDC Chairman has hinted that the next NDC government should they win the elections will abolish the Double-track system which the NPP has stated that it’s a direct move to cancel the Free SHS program which has benefited over 5.7 million youth in Ghana.
Speaking further, Opare-Ansah urged the former President John Mahama to call the Minority MPs and Speaker Alban Bagbin to recall Parliament and pass the bill into law if truly they accept the Free SHS policy.
He emphasized that it is only the NPP that can protect the Free SHS policy for future generations.
There are just a few days left to go to the polls on December 7, and the future of the Free SHS policy hangs in the balance.
-BY Daniel Bampoe
