A staffer at the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Legal Directorate, Kingsley Amoakwa-Boadu
A staffer at the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Legal Directorate, Kingsley Amoakwa-Boadu, has clarified that his party is not opposed to the National Democratic Congress' proposal to eliminate academic fees for all first-year tertiary students.
However, the NPP has raised concerns about the feasibility and implementation of such a policy.
Speaking on The Big Issue on Channel One TV, Amoakwa-Boadu expressed the NPP’s support for initiatives that increase access to education, emphasising the importance of educated and creative minds in driving Ghana’s development.
He acknowledged that expanding access to tertiary education is crucial for harnessing the country’s natural resources and advancing its developmental agenda.
“For myself and my party, anything that increases access to education is welcomed. For a long period of time, this country has needed educated minds because we have natural resources and all that, and it is that creative and imaginative mind that boosts our developmental agenda [we want]. And if you don’t have a lot of that, it is problematic,” Amoakwa-Boadu stated.
Despite the NPP’s positive stance on increasing educational access, Amoakwa-Boadu highlighted concerns regarding the practical implementation of the NDC’s proposal. He questioned the consistency of the NDC’s messaging and the lack of clarity on how the policy would be financed and applied across different types of tertiary institutions.
“Our issue is how it is going to be implemented and financed. The NDC is not speaking from one script. You have someone say this and the other say that. You get someone say it is for all public universities, and what about technical universities?” he questioned.
The NDC flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama, announced the proposal during the party’s youth manifesto launch in Accra on August 12, 2024, as part of a broader effort to support struggling students. Clement Apaak, a member of the NDC’s Manifesto Committee on Education, estimated that the policy could cost the government GH¢300 million annually.
While the NPP is not outrightly dismissing the proposal, it insists that a clear, sustainable plan must be in place to ensure its success.
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