Decay in education sector will take us many years to reverse - Alhassan Suhiyini

Alhassan Sayibu Suhiyini, Member of Parliament for Tamale North, says the dwindling fortunes in the education sector “will take many years to reverse,” despite the investments made in the sector by New Patriotic Party (NPP) government.

He said President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo‘s “attempt” to celebrate achievements in the education sector, as captured in the recent State of the Nation Address (SONA), “will not stand the test of time”.

The President in his address on Tuesday, February 27, 2024, hailed the impact of the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy, describing it as a “transformative programme that has broken myths and liberated minds.”

President Akufo-Addo, on the floor of Parliament, touched on investments such as the construction of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) schools and other programs in the education sector that had increased enrollment at the basic level.

However, Alhassan Suhuyini, speaking on Accra-based Citi FM on Saturday, said such contributions were expected as the government had generated “so much money from tax revenue”.

“We may be faced with many challenges, but the three, which I call the ‘triple jeopardy’, are education, environment and the economy…”

“In terms of quantum of money spent [in the education sector], I don’t challenge that, but the decay that our educational sector is faced with will take us many years to reverse,” he stated.

The lawmaker referred to research findings which suggested that some basic schools were owed capitation grants. In contrast, others lacked basic infrastructure, as a result of the “over-concentration on Free SHS”.

Describing the education system as ‘Kwashiorkor’ (malnourished), Suhuyini emphasised the concerns of some parents, who said they were facing difficulties despite implementing Free SHS.

“When you compare the Free SHS to investments at the tertiary level, you can see a ‘Kwashiorkor’ education system, where the legs are so lean because of deprivation…

“No preparation is done at the tertiary level to absorb the numbers that are supposed to be increasing at the Free SHS level; so much money goes there; bloating the tummy that is not healthy.

“…If we want to go into the area of education and think that is how to whitewash a terrible performance of the President, even that too will not stand the test of time,” Alhassan Suhuyini stated.