Plans to run down Free SHS through Africawatch Magazine exposed

An attempt by some faceless individuals through the Africawatch Magazine to run down government’s flagship free Senior High School (SHS) policy in its February 2018 edition has been exposed.

Mynewsgh.com checks indicate that over 73,000 copies of the Magazine have been locked up in a warehouse at Spintex in the Greater Accra Region awaiting free distribution with more copies expected to be shipped into the country through unapproved routes later this week to outsmart government from sabotaging the circulation.

The Africawatch Magazine owned and edited by Steve Mallory, a one-time close pal of current President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo with the help of some persons believed to be members of an opposition party in the February 2018 edition, attacked several government policies but made the free SHS its main target.

As part of moves to discredit the President and make the free Senior High School (SHS) policy look bad in the eyes of the people locally and internationally, they are alleged and bent on publishing already known challenges facing the government.

The yet to released 2018 February Edition of the widely circulated magazine is bringing fore challenges of free SHS implementation which educational experts earlier described as teething but say they are working aimed at minimizing them.

Sources have told this portal that the 44-page report is captioned “Is FCUBE an Achievement?” is going to shred poor educational system in Ghana and highlight achievements of the erstwhile National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration.

“The fact that the country’s educational system is saddled with challenges does not mean we do not see them. …we are known what are doing”, a source told our reporter.

Though the full content of the whole magazine is yet to be known, some faceless persons believed to be members of the opposition NDC are alleged to behind the publication.

The free SHS policy which was major campaign tool of the current government in 2012 and 2016 respectively, was rolled out in September last year with over 400, 000 beneficiaries.

The NDC rejected the policy at the time saying, it needed to be implemented ‘progressively’ calling it ‘progressive free Senior High School’ which is still being contested.

It has however been characterized by challenges ranging from the unavailability of accommodation, furniture, poor feeding to lack of basic amenities at the implementing institutions but President Akufo-Addo has stated he is committed to overcoming the challenges an making it works to near perfection.