Government engaging in double standards over the review of free SHS – Mahama

Presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Mahama, has accused the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) of double standards in the ongoing discourse on the review of the Free Senior High School policy.

Appointees of the government have maintained that what the policy needs is an improvement, not a review.

However, speaking at the launch of the Ghana National Association of Private Schools week, themed “2024 Elections: The Private Education Manifesto,” Mr Mahama lambasted the government, accusing it of double standards.

He referenced the government’s pledge to review and rationalise the policy in a document submitted to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) while presenting a conflicting narrative to the Ghanaian public.

Mr. Mahama criticised the NPP’s communication to the IMF for a lack of transparency and consistency, highlighting the discrepancy between their promises and actions.

“There’s hypocrisy in this thing about review. If you look at the IMF agreement that this government has signed, under point 47, page 76.

“This Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government signed an agreement with the IMF in January 2024. And they say that in the educational sector, we will review and rationalise the free SHS. These are their words, not my words.”

“And so when you hear all this politics about my understanding of the review means to abolish, in their own words, they are using review. Sometimes, you must watch our politics. I encourage all of you to get the Eduwatch report and read it, and it is about especially, the free SHS.

“It says that between 2021 to date, over 196,000 children did not take up their place in the free SHS. Even though they were posted and qualified, they didn’t go. We need to find out why they didn’t go.

“The report says that the total amount of money the government has spent on free SHS comes to about ¢5.8 billion. The proportion of the parents is about 77% to the government’s share of about 23%. That is why we must do a review,” he said.