You've been telling lies! - Sammy Gyamfi clashes with Miracles Aboagye over Free SHS

The National Communications Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sammy Gyamfi, clashed with Miracles Aboagye, a member of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia's campaign team, over which president initiated the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy.

During a discussion on JoyNews' New File programme, monitored by GhanaWeb, Miracles Aboagye claimed that former President John Dramani Mahama only announced the Free SHS policy without implementing it.

He also stated that day school was not free during Mahama's tenure, contrary to his claims.

“That policy is already enshrined in our constitution, so they are not the same. The policy [Free SHS] was just an announcement. He [Mahama] said that he had already made day school free and had planned to enroll over a hundred thousand boarders onto it," he said.

"But day school was not free. That is why I keep saying that let’s separate the emotions and rants from the fact,” Aboagye said in his submission.

Afterwards, Sammy Gyamfi refuted Aboagye's claims, maintaining that the Free SHS policy was indeed started by Mahama and included in budgets for parliament targeting needy students.

Gyamfi noted that the Mahama-led government implemented progressively free secondary education in the first term of the 2015-2016 academic year and asked Aboagye to stop spreading falsehoods.

“He says that John Mahama only announced free SHS and didn’t implement it. I have in my hand the last budget that was presented to Parliament for approval on behalf of John. A 2016 media budget review approved by both the NDC and NPP. This is an official document, paragraph 109. This is what is contained there, 'consistent with the 1992 Constitution, our commitment to make secondary education accessible, especially to needy students.'

“The government initiated the implementation of progressively free secondary education in the first term of the 2015 to 2016 academic year with 320,488 day students in public senior high schools across the country. The program is to be expanded to cover 120,000 targeted boarding students in the 2016 to 2017 academic year. This shows that beyond announcement, there was implementation and 320,488 day students in public senior high schools benefited. I will expose it because they’ve been going around telling lies,” he said.

This exchange follows John Mahama's statement that his government started the Free SHS policy, which was continued by the NPP government.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo refuted Mahama's assertion, stating that his government implemented the Free SHS policy, allowing many to access secondary education.

Watch the video below:

It’s about time the NPP stopped peddling lies about the genesis of Free SHS in this country.

Facts are sacrosanct. pic.twitter.com/77IHKG6Hmh

— Sammy Gyamfi (@SammyGyamfi_) July 13, 2024