MINISTER OF Education, Lee Ocran has vehemently criticized the free secondary education policy proposed by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flag bearer, Nana Akufo-Addo saying it is unrealistic.
Addressing a news conference in Accra Monday, he said the solution to the problems of senior high school education was very costly and no one could make it free.
“If free education is possible, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah should have done it. Talk is cheap but implementation is what matters.”
The minister added that there was no free education anywhere in the world.
“What is happening is that people pay fees either directly or indirectly. What sometimes takes place is that tuition fees become free whilst students are allowed to pay for other expenses.”
“Akufo-Addo’s free education is unrealistic to implement when the cost of education currently is very high. Currently about GH¢2billion which is about 9.8% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is being spent on education,” he said.
According to him, the NPP leader underestimated the cost of the policy especially in the first year of implementation.
“Contrary to the GH¢78million Nana Akufo-Addo is claiming funding free education will cost in the first year, it is GH¢1.2 billion.”
Explaining, he said tackling the country’s education went beyond making SHS education free. In his view, Nana must ensure that there was adequate infrastructure to take care of all the children.
He said enrolment figures at the SHS had been increasing and noted that in 2007/2008 academic year there were a little over 484,000 SHS students in the various second cycle schools but by 2012, the figure had jumped to 728,076.
The NDC feels that improving learning and teaching at the basic level was what should be prioritized.
He said currently the NDC administration was concentrating on the basic level by improving infrastructure, giving free exercise books and providing computer laboratories and computers to basic schools.
Mr. Ocran said out of the 376,000 students who completed JHS this year, 115,000 were not admitted into SHS due to unlimited infrastructure. “This is why we are saying that Nana Addo’s free education is unrealistic and meaningless.”
“It is because Nana Addo does not know much about what goes into making education free that is why he is very optimistic. If you do not know where you are going any road can take you there.”
