Free SHS will be protected by the ‘ballot box’ – Dr. Adutwum

Deputy Education Minister in charge of Basic & Secondary Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, is optimistic government’s flagship Free Senior High School Policy is here to stay considering how determined Ghanaians are, to protect the policy which he says has brought hope to several parents nationwide.

According to him, the public is discerning enough to decide for themselves a path that will lead to the sustainability of the policy; retainment of the government which introduced the policy in this case, seeing the vast impact it has had on their lives so far.

“I believe that we as Ghanaians have to decide what is best for our nation, what is best for our nation is the highest form of education possible for every Ghanaian child and I hope it will not be a political issue”.

Speaking to Ghanaweb on the sidelines of the National Forum on education, Dr. Adutwum said the bigger picture of making Ghana a ‘power house’ as far as education is concerned should be the prime focus of every government regardless of party differences and politics.

He was emphatic about the need for extensive policies to be implemented and supported in the country to get Ghana to the point where it can confidently compete with the rest of the world when it comes to education; not just the number of persons who are educated but the quality of education as well.

The Minister was however quick to add the fact that, it won’t be far from possible that Ghanaians, as shrewd as they are, will, through voting, retain the NPP so as to keep the Free SHS policy going and keep their children in school at minimal cost, rather than vote in a different party and risk having the policy scrapped and another introduced.

“For those who want to make it a political issue, it will be up to Ghanaians to decide if they can rule over them. Ghanaians will decide that if you are the type that says education shouldn’t be for all, will they vote for you? When we talk about Free Senior High School and how we protect it, it’s going to be left to Ghanaians every four years to decide whether they want a progressive government that will do everything they want in the area of education or they want a government that says I can do it”.

“It’s not a political issue but it’s going to be protected by the ballot box and not any law. Any law that you make, once they have the majority in parliament, they can change it, but Ghanaians are going to protect Free Senior High School Policy so if you are a political party, you toe the line, if you don’t want to toe the line and educate all children, Ghanaians will not vote for you”.

The program dubbed, Free SHS: ‘The role of parents in the sustainable implementation of the policy”, came off on Wednesday October 24 at the Presbyterian Boys Senior High School in Accra. It saw in attendance various stakeholders including heads of schools, board directors and parents.

Deputy Minister Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum also represented his head, Matthew Opoku Prempeh together with Veteran Educationist Anis Haffar.