Prof Ameyaw Ekumfi justifies free SHS education policy

Professor Ameyaw Ekumfi, Member of Parliament for Techiman North and former Director General of the Ghana Education Service (GES) has stated that Nana Akufo- Addo’s free Senior High School (SHS) education campaign promise is feasible.

According to him a group of educational think tanks and policy consultants were contacted before the New Patriotic Party (NPP), adopted it into its manifesto.

Prof Ameyaw Ekumfi, who was also former Minister of Port and Harbour in the Kufuor regime, made this known at the Inauguration of the Senior Patriots Club of the University of Education Winneba (UEW) branch in Winneba.

He said it is not true that the policy would affect basic education as being speculated by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) campaign team.

Prof Ameyaw Ekumfi, currently a Member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Education, therefore urged Ghanaians to ignore the NDC communicators and Ministers doubts on the implementation of a free SHS by the NPP.

He said the NPP has facts and figures on how the policy would be implemented to help Ghanaian children, who are less privileged to have access to SHS education.

The former Minister said financing of the policy would not be sourced from outside the country, but rather from the oil revenue, the Get FUND and other sources.

He said the problems of supervision and teacher motivation would be addressed to encourage teachers and other non-teaching staffs to help move the policy forward.

Mr Samuel Kweku Boafo, former Ashanti Regional Minister, urged students, who are mostly members of the Youth wing of NPP, to intensify their educational campaign and educate parents about the importance of a free SHS policy.

He said the NDS’s claim that a free SHS is only attainable in 20 years time cannot be true, adding that, Ghanaians cannot wait for that many years before all children can get free SHS education.

Mr Boafo said the NDC government had incurred huge foreign debts in the area of loans than any government in the history of the country.

Dr Henry Augustine Puffa, Chairman of the Senior Patriots Club of UEW, said the NPP has a dream team to take Ghanaians to the Promised Land.

He said the club would assist the Effutu NPP to wrest power from the NDC in the December 7, elections.