Education Minister fires back at Mahama

Minister of Education, Mathew Opoku-Prempeh has fired salvoes at former President John Dramani Mahama.

The former President has criticised the Akufo-Addo led government for implementing a broad Free Senior High School (SHS) policy in haste.

He has urged government to call for a stakeholders meeting to address challenges facing the Free SHS policy because it is stifling other developmental projects.

“The problem this government is facing and it is in their own interest, is that, Free Senior High School is absorbing all the fiscal space they have and so almost every money you have, you are having to put it into Free Senior High School. So you can’t pay District Assemblies Common Fund, you can’t pay NHIS (National Health Insurance Scheme), you can’t pay GETFund (Ghana Education Trust Fund), you can’t pay other salaries and things because all your money is going into Free Senior High School,” Mahama said on Saturday, 24 February 2018, during the Unity Walk organised by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) at Somanya in the Eastern region.

Interacting with Kwami Sefa-Kayi on Peace FM morning show ‘Kokrokoo’ Monday, the Education Minister disagrees with the former President.

According to him, “if he wishes us bad, it will fall back on him…what does he want us to call a stakeholders meeting for?”

“While in office, he never bought one text for any school. Ask him where his policy document or guideline for his progressive free SHS…there was nothing like that. You were not able to do it in your time and now that we are capably doing it, you are complaining…he should tell NDC members not to take their children to enjoy the free SHS because it is not good…” he added.