Minister goes wild over 'false claims' against Free SHS policy

The Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei Mensah, has stated emphatically that free Senior High School (SHS) beneficiaries are not paying school fees.

He has therefore dared anybody who has evidence that headmasters are charging school fees from beneficiaries of the free SHS programme to produce it.

According to him, some fiendish people, who are not happy with the good works of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration, are denigrating the policy.

He stated that the concocted lies by the opponents of the NPP to cast a slur on the free SHS policy would not gel, noting that the policy has come to stay.

The Ashanti Regional Minister, who seemed peeved, gave the remarks after someone alleged on Nhyira FM that the free SHS is not free as claimed.

The unknown man, who called into the station’s morning show programme, alleged that headmasters are charging GH¢ 700 as school fees from students.

Mr Osei Mensah, who was at the studios of the station, quickly debunked the man’s wild allegation, saying that the caller was just peddling falsehood.

“No headmaster is charging GH¢ 700 from first-year students as school fees as the caller alleged on this programme this morning. It is totally false.

“I am challenging the caller to come to my office and show any evidence that suggests that headmasters are charging school fees.

“This caller is clearly doing politics with the policy and so he decided to come to radio and throw dust into the eyes of listeners”, he remarked.

The Ashanti Regional Minister said the free SHS policy is indeed free and so he would not watch aloof as people peddled falsehood about the policy.

“They should stop doing partisan politics with the free SHS policy because it is a positive social intervention programme”, he advised free SHS saboteurs.

According to him, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo wants a prosperous and a secured future for the country, hence the introduction of the free SHS policy.

He said an educated population can play vital roles to help transform the country and create wealth for the masses so the free SHS should be supported by all.

The Ashanti Regional Minister noted that those who wish evil for the free SHS programme are nation wreckers and should be ignored.