Free SHS not actually free – Marricke Kofi Gane

Independent Presidential aspirant Marricke Kofi Gane has said that the Free Senior High School (FSHS) policy being implemented by the government is not actually free as is being claimed.

In an interview with TV3 on Thursday, September 24, he called on Ghanaians to discard the notion that the policy is free because they are paying for it in one way or the other.

“Free SHS is not free. It’s Ghanaians tax payers money. Let’s get that analogy out of the way. No government comes into office with its money to deal with its own issues. We all pay for them.”

According to the aspiring president, the problems with the policy were far beyond the quality of education.

He argued that “less than 25% of young people up till six years old cannot read at their level. That for me means they don’t have access to education. This is a problem no one talks about. You can’t learn anything if you can’t read. We need to solve that basic problem”.

He also added that the inclusion of Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) needed to be rolled out properly.

“We want to make some changes to the curriculum. We want (STEM) to be the basis for every subject,” he said.

The presidential candidate also shared his thoughts on the ongoing problems with the voter exhibition exercise.

“This always happens. It is quite aesthetic and it is just emotions being thrown out. Yes I have some problems with some of the things the Electoral Commission has done. I think we need to be measured in some of the things we do. I also understand that the work of the EC is not an easy one.”