Is this a sick joke? According to Mr Najeeb, there is no nation called Northern Ghana and I never said there was but for Mr Najeeb to try to imply that there is not a Northern And Southern Ghana is really juvenile because the ... read full comment
Is this a sick joke? According to Mr Najeeb, there is no nation called Northern Ghana and I never said there was but for Mr Najeeb to try to imply that there is not a Northern And Southern Ghana is really juvenile because there is and it was not me who divided the country into two zones.
Mr Najeeb is playing the bigotry card because I questioned the rationality of paying the feeding fees in boarding school for Northern children. Mr Najeeb trying to make his point about how the Northerners should be allowed to stay on this freebie for ever by using the Ama and Umar or whatever name it is.
My question to Mr Najeeb is this. The Northerners have been enjoying this facility for almost sixty years so when are they going to feel is the right time to get off from the gravy train since the Northern scholarship was not intended to be till eternity.
By using his Ama example, let Mr Najeeb be aware that even we train blind and dowm syndrome people to ne self sufficient where they become responsible for themselves so I don't think after close to sixty years of living on other tax paying Ghanaians to educate their children, the Northerners should lace their boots and go to work to educate their own children.
Mr Najeeb, if there is no nation called Northern Ghana, Why is it that President Mahama even call himself the son of Northern Ghana?
Even yesterday President Mahama was in Nalerigu and said, as the son of Northern Ghana, I will develop the North.
If there is no nation called Northern Ghana, then why do we craft special policies pertaining to Northern Ghana alone like SADA and Scholarship for Northerners.
The point of that article was not for the government to scrap the Northern scholarship completely but only the feeding portion. You don't have to stay in the boarding house to get secondary education. You can be a day student.
Ghanaian Patriot 10 years ago
Why does a student from Bolga have to go to school at Tamale? I read Mr Sarpong article and don't remember him saying all boarding schools in the North should be abolished but he suggested that, we should have more day school ... read full comment
Why does a student from Bolga have to go to school at Tamale? I read Mr Sarpong article and don't remember him saying all boarding schools in the North should be abolished but he suggested that, we should have more day schools and those Northerners who want to go to boarding schools parents should pay to board their children.
I live in Bronx, New York and children in Bronx don't go to school in Manhattan in New York city let alone out of state to say Connecticut, so why do you want your child to go to school in Tamale if you live in Bolgatanga?
There is hardly any boarding high school in USA and the time has come for the government of Ghana to look at our boarding school system.
Eben, Washington DC 10 years ago
The fact that there are very few boarding schools in the U.S. does not mean Ghana government should modify or change our boarding school system. We should not follow blindly.
The fact that there are very few boarding schools in the U.S. does not mean Ghana government should modify or change our boarding school system. We should not follow blindly.
william 10 years ago
iF YOU WANT TO COMPARE THE USA(WHICH YOU OBVIOUSLY DO NOT UNDERSTAND) TO GHANA DO THAT WELL? DO THEY PAY FEES IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS? WHO COVERS THE COST? DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHY BOARDING SCHOOLS WERE PROMOTED BY NKRUMAH? COMPARE WI ... read full comment
iF YOU WANT TO COMPARE THE USA(WHICH YOU OBVIOUSLY DO NOT UNDERSTAND) TO GHANA DO THAT WELL? DO THEY PAY FEES IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS? WHO COVERS THE COST? DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHY BOARDING SCHOOLS WERE PROMOTED BY NKRUMAH? COMPARE WITH COUNTRIES WHERE THIS WAS NOT DONE AND SEE WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM!
CARDINAL 10 years ago
So you think they don't pay fees? Do you think the money for these schools budget fall from heaven? Have you heard of the SCHOOL DISTRICT TAXES? This is taxes collected on properties where these schools are located specifical ... read full comment
So you think they don't pay fees? Do you think the money for these schools budget fall from heaven? Have you heard of the SCHOOL DISTRICT TAXES? This is taxes collected on properties where these schools are located specifically to finance these schools.
We in Ghana will pay minimum fees for our kids if we embrace the day school system. You don't have to board to get education in Ghana and boarding should be a luxury for those who can afford it.
DARFOUR 10 years ago
All must pay. Free school feeding, northern school grant, free school , join army/ police or government appointment free n free accommodation . All must pay
All must pay. Free school feeding, northern school grant, free school , join army/ police or government appointment free n free accommodation . All must pay
the devils advocate 10 years ago
The problem with literate bigots is that they actually pose the right questions but can never bring themselves to logically answer them objectively.They are forever blinded by hatred that befuddles their little brains.The lik ... read full comment
The problem with literate bigots is that they actually pose the right questions but can never bring themselves to logically answer them objectively.They are forever blinded by hatred that befuddles their little brains.The likes of CARDINAL
need to go back to proper school and get a proper education ,not just learn to read and write without
learning to think without prejudice.You could by reading the statistics on poverty in GHANA
Ghana-ba 10 years ago
Thanks, you have made my day.
Thanks, you have made my day.
HAMID RUKAYA 10 years ago
what he simply means is that whether northern Ghana or southern Ghana it is one Ghana,one nation and one people with a common destiny.so in my opinion there is nothing wrong with it.i support him.(mr Najeeb).....
what he simply means is that whether northern Ghana or southern Ghana it is one Ghana,one nation and one people with a common destiny.so in my opinion there is nothing wrong with it.i support him.(mr Najeeb).....
CARDINAL 10 years ago
I will support Najeeb too if I have a system that is specifically for my region that will allow me to breed like rats and not worry about my children education.
I will support Najeeb too if I have a system that is specifically for my region that will allow me to breed like rats and not worry about my children education.
mohammed 10 years ago
Cardinal move to the welcoming north and get over your sentiment. You can be free to give birth to as many children as possible and send them to the northern boarding schools so that you can equally be assimilated as a northe ... read full comment
Cardinal move to the welcoming north and get over your sentiment. You can be free to give birth to as many children as possible and send them to the northern boarding schools so that you can equally be assimilated as a northerner.
kwame 10 years ago
mr sarpongs article need dispassionate discussion.first,it does not make sense to implement a policy for over 5o years without review.how will me najeeb reconcile the following; nurses who had completed school last year had t ... read full comment
mr sarpongs article need dispassionate discussion.first,it does not make sense to implement a policy for over 5o years without review.how will me najeeb reconcile the following; nurses who had completed school last year had their allowances stopped while they are still working and yet government is not paying them salaries.contractors who worked for getfund since 2013 are yet to be paid.teachers trainees are no more receiving allowances and yet the government had found 50.4 million gh cedis to pay subsidies up north?are we living in separate nations?
tikuma 10 years ago
I thought Mr. Sarpong wa s adequately informed about the history of the Northern scholarship and be in the position to tell when it is enough. But unfortunately he is completely ignorant so far as the scheme is concerned. Thi ... read full comment
I thought Mr. Sarpong wa s adequately informed about the history of the Northern scholarship and be in the position to tell when it is enough. But unfortunately he is completely ignorant so far as the scheme is concerned. This he has amply demonstrated by jumping into hasty conclusions. I advise him to go and learn more about the subject and come again
Yaw Poku, USA 10 years ago
What did you fool teach us about that Cardinal lacks of. Since you yourself came out with empty respond what did we learn from you that would have been contrary from what we all know about that people from the north get free ... read full comment
What did you fool teach us about that Cardinal lacks of. Since you yourself came out with empty respond what did we learn from you that would have been contrary from what we all know about that people from the north get free education for which those from the south do not get. Get a life Mr Freeloader, northerner.
Kofi 10 years ago
Tell us what he said that is not true because so far you have failed to tell us.
Tell us what he said that is not true because so far you have failed to tell us.
Dia 10 years ago
Umar Najeeb, your statement ' that is, subsidizing the school fees of Northerners is discriminatory' is factually incorrect and misleads readers. Fee free education in Ghana has existed since 1952, just one year after Kwame ... read full comment
Umar Najeeb, your statement ' that is, subsidizing the school fees of Northerners is discriminatory' is factually incorrect and misleads readers. Fee free education in Ghana has existed since 1952, just one year after Kwame Nkrumah became leader of government business and continues till today. What differentiated north from south was free board and lodging for northerners in secondary but CMB scholarships were to cater to the needy in the south.Mind you the cost free board and lodging was borne by northern local authorities and if the south wants emulate that example there should be no objection. You may wish to go to the readers' comments section of Justice Sarpong's article and read an article co-authored by Zan Akologo entitled 'Why the north matters' as it answers Justice Sarpong very well. It actually points out that the school feeding programme is a nationwide one not just a northern one so no need trying to justify it for the north. In fact more of the money goes to the south than the north.
Yaw Poku, USA 10 years ago
Sarpong don't mind that free loader called Najeeb. What an imbicile that he is. We are determined to make sure eithier we all get free education for all ghanaians or scrap that freebies for the three northern regions.
Sarpong don't mind that free loader called Najeeb. What an imbicile that he is. We are determined to make sure eithier we all get free education for all ghanaians or scrap that freebies for the three northern regions.
Vodoo Xebieso 10 years ago
If Mahama can refer to himself as a son of Northern Ghana, then let it be known from today that I Vodoo Xebieso should be known as the son of Volta Ghana.
If Mahama can refer to himself as a son of Northern Ghana, then let it be known from today that I Vodoo Xebieso should be known as the son of Volta Ghana.
Yag 10 years ago
Najeeb you have scored several own goals. Ama who is working is obliged to give money to Umar .So what you the past beneficiary doing to financially support the poor you rightly identified.? You have been taught how to fish s ... read full comment
Najeeb you have scored several own goals. Ama who is working is obliged to give money to Umar .So what you the past beneficiary doing to financially support the poor you rightly identified.? You have been taught how to fish so help others to fish by themselves.
ABDUL-KARIM YAKUBU 10 years ago
UUUH ALLAH SHOULD GRANT US THE WISDOM TO UNDERSTAN MR NAJEED!!!
UUUH ALLAH SHOULD GRANT US THE WISDOM TO UNDERSTAN MR NAJEED!!!
Mallam Kankane. 10 years ago
Thank you for the rejoinder and being civil but i think you need to go back and read Sarpong's article carefully. I think the issue of free education needs to be reviewed. The argument and debate as to whether there is free e ... read full comment
Thank you for the rejoinder and being civil but i think you need to go back and read Sarpong's article carefully. I think the issue of free education needs to be reviewed. The argument and debate as to whether there is free education or subsidy are not the best ways to tackle a policy that is more than fifty years.The policy as it stands today is not helping a lot of northern children that is why Sarpong is suggesting the establishment of more day schools in the northern communities. If we indeed need more children educated then Sarpong's idea of opening more day schools needs to be debated carefully devoid of politics and tribalism.Nigeria did it and has been successful so the excuses you mention in this rejoinder are not the solutions to get more northern children in SHS.Ghana needs to move forward and no child should be left behind in education so come again with what you think will be in the best interest to the children in the north but not excuses.
CARDINAL 10 years ago
Thank you. It's sad Mr Najeeb decided to write a rejoinder to my article without reading it well.
First I did not suggest boarding school in the North should be scrapped entirely but rather suggested that those who want th ... read full comment
Thank you. It's sad Mr Najeeb decided to write a rejoinder to my article without reading it well.
First I did not suggest boarding school in the North should be scrapped entirely but rather suggested that those who want that luxury should pay the feeding fees.
I failed to understand Mr Najeeb argument about a student from Bolgatanga who cannot attent school at Navrongo or Tamale. If your parents cannot afford boarding fees, why do you want to go to school at Tamale if you are from Bolgatanga?
Not all children from the South attend boarding. Technology Secondary school at UST Kumasi is a fully day school and one of my nephew went to school there. You can attend almost all the secondary schools in the Ashanti region as day student if you want to so Mr Najeeb ecample of letting a 14 year old living by himself does not even make sense.
Also nowhere in my article did I say of Northerners having cows so they have money to educate their children.
Mr Najeeb says he is a student in USA. I will like for him to name me one boarding high school in the city he lives in. I can bet my bottom dollar that 98% of all High school students in USA Are day students and don't understand why Mr Najeeb looks down on day students.
Fiifi Hayford 10 years ago
You are not making any coherent argument here? Who is suggesting 14 year olds should go and hire a room and go to secondary school?
If you are from Wa, why do you want to go to secondary school at Yendi? Your argument does n ... read full comment
You are not making any coherent argument here? Who is suggesting 14 year olds should go and hire a room and go to secondary school?
If you are from Wa, why do you want to go to secondary school at Yendi? Your argument does not make any sense. Do you think it is only in the North where there are poor people? There are poor people in all the ten regions in Ghana and even Central Region where I am from is poorer than Northern Region so why no free education for my children? Parents from the South go through the same problems Northern parents go through. This system is discrimination and should be done away with.
GIDEON ATONGO 10 years ago
Fiifi I believe in your district every 5 kilometer square area has a secondary school, so students will not still need to rent accommodation if those schools are turned into day schools.
Fiifi I believe in your district every 5 kilometer square area has a secondary school, so students will not still need to rent accommodation if those schools are turned into day schools.
Sarkozy 10 years ago
It's unfortunate people who call themselves 'Northerners' continue to think that they deserve special treatment from government. A lot has changed between the time of independence and now. Poverty abounds in all regions of G ... read full comment
It's unfortunate people who call themselves 'Northerners' continue to think that they deserve special treatment from government. A lot has changed between the time of independence and now. Poverty abounds in all regions of Ghana. Even in Greater Accra which is coterminous with the capital city, poverty is a serious problem. It is time people in the north realized that all Ghanaians face the same difficult economic situation. For me, it is either free SHS for all or no free SHS for nobody.
Koo 10 years ago
Hey Mr Mohammed or what you call yourself, you are now playing it low. Ghana has had enough babyfeeding the northerners which you do not want to admit. Ghana has had two presidents from the north and now almost all the interl ... read full comment
Hey Mr Mohammed or what you call yourself, you are now playing it low. Ghana has had enough babyfeeding the northerners which you do not want to admit. Ghana has had two presidents from the north and now almost all the interlectuals in Ghana is coming from the north. They all enjoyed the Kwame Nkrumah's scholarship schemes. Those Nkrumah's babyfeeding and spoonfeeding days for the north is over. You people call the Ashantis names and blaming the woes on Ghana on the Akans. Now the national cake from the cocoa farmers is given to the northerners as booty and you and the Ewes are now up against the Akans. It is about time all of us or none of us will get the scholarship schemes you guys are enjoying. Wait and see that the education in Ghana will be free for all Ghanaians from primary school to the senior high school level. Let me tell you that the porvety that is in the north is in the south. Not every family in the south is reach enough to pay for the high school tution. You guys in the north thinks every family in the south are rich and should be able to pay for their kids tution. If that is what you are thinking, then be asdvased that the reverse of what you are thinking is true. It is coming and everychild in Ghana will not be left behind, Long live Ghana, short live the Ewes and the Northerners mentality.
NDC THIEVES 10 years ago
Is time to review the scholarship grant for our cattle brothers
Is time to review the scholarship grant for our cattle brothers
mohammed 10 years ago
Just allow your poor children to troop to the north for the free scholarship.
Just allow your poor children to troop to the north for the free scholarship.
LONTO-BOY 10 years ago
Mr Umar Najeeb Mohammed, I think this rejoinder in response to an article written by Mr Justice Sarpong, fails to address points by Mr Sarpong, and his line of reasoning.
Going by my understanding, Mr Justice Sarpong, sugg ... read full comment
Mr Umar Najeeb Mohammed, I think this rejoinder in response to an article written by Mr Justice Sarpong, fails to address points by Mr Sarpong, and his line of reasoning.
Going by my understanding, Mr Justice Sarpong, suggested that the Government should look at getting rid of the subsidised SHS feeding grant/scheme available to the three(3) Regions of Upper East, Upper West and Northern Region which is too costly and unsustainable. And, rather convert those Boarding schools into Day schools as a more practical and cost-effective system.
sammy 10 years ago
Yes,I think its time those grants are scrap of.Training colleges allowances and subsidise school grant were put in place to encourage people in those days.
Yes,I think its time those grants are scrap of.Training colleges allowances and subsidise school grant were put in place to encourage people in those days.
LONTO-BOY 10 years ago
Mr Umar Najeeb Mohammed, I think this rejoinder in response to an article written by Mr Justice Sarpong, fails to address points by Mr Sarpong, and his line of reasoning.
Going by my understanding, Mr Justice Sarpong, sugg ... read full comment
Mr Umar Najeeb Mohammed, I think this rejoinder in response to an article written by Mr Justice Sarpong, fails to address points by Mr Sarpong, and his line of reasoning.
Going by my understanding, Mr Justice Sarpong, suggested that the Government should look at getting rid of the subsidised SHS feeding grant/scheme available to the three(3) Regions of Upper East, Upper West and Northern Region which is too costly and unsustainable. And, rather convert those Boarding schools into Day schools as a more practical and cost-effective system.
JAK 10 years ago
thank u najeeb for ur kind response. u had ur tone right
thank u najeeb for ur kind response. u had ur tone right
LONTO-BOY 10 years ago
Mr Umar Najeeb Mohammed, I think this rejoinder in response to an article written by Mr Justice Sarpong, fails to address points by Mr Sarpong, and his line of reasoning.
Going by my understanding, Mr Justice Sarpong, sugg ... read full comment
Mr Umar Najeeb Mohammed, I think this rejoinder in response to an article written by Mr Justice Sarpong, fails to address points by Mr Sarpong, and his line of reasoning.
Going by my understanding, Mr Justice Sarpong, suggested that the Government should look at getting rid of the subsidised SHS feeding grant/scheme available to the three(3) Regions of Upper East, Upper West and Northern Region which is too costly and unsustainable. And, rather convert those Boarding schools into Day schools as a more practical and cost-effective system.
LONTO-BOY 10 years ago
Mr Umar Najeeb Mohammed, I think this rejoinder in response to an article written by Mr Justice Sarpong, fails to address points by Mr Sarpong, and his line of reasoning.
Going by my understanding, Mr Justice Sarpong, sugg ... read full comment
Mr Umar Najeeb Mohammed, I think this rejoinder in response to an article written by Mr Justice Sarpong, fails to address points by Mr Sarpong, and his line of reasoning.
Going by my understanding, Mr Justice Sarpong, suggested that the Government should look at getting rid of the subsidised SHS feeding grant/scheme available to the three(3) Regions of Upper East, Upper West and Northern Region which is too costly and unsustainable. And, rather convert those Boarding schools into Day schools as a more practical and cost-effective system.
jingoisis 10 years ago
One glaring omission in Umar's article is the fact that southerners who school in the north don't pay fees....at all...like their northern brethren, they school free of charge......
This debate about paying school fees would ... read full comment
One glaring omission in Umar's article is the fact that southerners who school in the north don't pay fees....at all...like their northern brethren, they school free of charge......
This debate about paying school fees would go on long after we are dead and interred....it is an issue politicians worth their salt would not tamper with knowing very well that it would ignite passions.....negative and positive ....one day when the north closes the wealth gap, the region will be in a position to pay its way. Until then, southerners who think the north deserves no such largess should pipe up.
Fiifi 10 years ago
When you live on welfare as all Northerners do, people look down on you and that is why Northerners are not respected, think about it.
When you live on welfare as all Northerners do, people look down on you and that is why Northerners are not respected, think about it.
MD-Kansas 10 years ago
You are wrong. I live in Obuasi and Accra most of my life and no southerner ever look down upon me. How many southerners own jobs in Accra and Kumasi to talk of employing a northerner? Most of the jobs southerners own are ret ... read full comment
You are wrong. I live in Obuasi and Accra most of my life and no southerner ever look down upon me. How many southerners own jobs in Accra and Kumasi to talk of employing a northerner? Most of the jobs southerners own are retail business and few other jobs that employ family members. Gone are the days when northerners used to work on cocoa farmers and that has stopped decade ago. You can only find kayayo girls mostly from the northern and upper east regions in Kumasi and Accra busy markets and nothing more. Most of the work northerners do right now are government jobs. So I see no reason why a southerner should look down upon a northerner. It is not true at all. I can tell you that northerners are now on the rise and will have a big say in Ghana few years to come.
Kwesi 10 years ago
They are on the rise and doing well and should pay to educate their children then.
They are on the rise and doing well and should pay to educate their children then.
Akadu Mensema 10 years ago
Your arguments and lame and conclusions are not supported by the evidene. Besides, your comparative lens is jaded, if not broken! If ad you argue, the Ghana is one family, why do you think that the North is the place where st ... read full comment
Your arguments and lame and conclusions are not supported by the evidene. Besides, your comparative lens is jaded, if not broken! If ad you argue, the Ghana is one family, why do you think that the North is the place where students in bording house has to be fed by govt. What about other parts of the country. This policy is 50 years.Don't think that sons of poor fisherfolk, farmers, and other workers in the South also could use the same policy? Some of you Northeners defend outmoded policies because you gained from and wish ro see such perpetuated.
Kpengson Ray 10 years ago
Akadu, I respect you a lot. I want you to do some reading research, go to the World Bank, UNESCO, UNICEF and similar websites, look at the statistics on poverty and Eudcation in Ghana, research into the real reasons why Nkrum ... read full comment
Akadu, I respect you a lot. I want you to do some reading research, go to the World Bank, UNESCO, UNICEF and similar websites, look at the statistics on poverty and Eudcation in Ghana, research into the real reasons why Nkrumah gave the North free education, analyse the package in its present form and make your own conclusions as to whether the policy should be continued or scrapped altogether. I think the policy should be kept but modified. If with free education we are still having increasing numbers of kayakaya boys and girls from the north trooping to the south, what do you think will happen when it is scrapped?
For the sake of social cohesion of this country let us keep this policy, Nkrumah looked far into the future and adopted it and it has served us well. The uneducated in prevailing poverty are cannon fodder for extremism, and we don't want any Boko Haram nonsense here. Why do you think people seem to be always fighting up north? Despite this package poverty is actually increasing in the north while it is decreasing in the south - consult the various research journals and you will be alarmed. Some statistics indicate a worrying increase in northern youth in violent crime! Let us not play politics with this issue!
Having said that the policy should be modified; let us target the real poor and give them the subsidy and not those who school in the south and when it is time for them to enter SHS their wealthy parents rush them to the north
to take up the few vacancies in the best schools there and push out the poor ones!
By all means let us tackle the poverty issue in the north. The SADA flop should be interrogated and those found culpable should be severely punished because they were given the opportunity to help alleviate poverty in the north and they failed us by the ill-thought out projects and their corruption. I think that the projects that will benefit the north better are irrigation dams. Let us construct them all over the north and those hard working farmers will lift themselves out of poverty!
Let us debate this issue devoid of political colours and emotion for the sake of a stable mother Ghana!
I have not taken my time to write this, so ignore the "bombs".
john throway 10 years ago
the president's brother from the north even owns a private jet and some luxurious vehicles compared with his peers in the south. most of the wealthiest academicians in ghana today are from the north, is that not true? i guess ... read full comment
the president's brother from the north even owns a private jet and some luxurious vehicles compared with his peers in the south. most of the wealthiest academicians in ghana today are from the north, is that not true? i guess, two-third occupants of the parliament are of the northern stock. ghana's economy and it's security is almost in the grips of the northerners and their ewe cousins, yet, still, their blood relatives are trooping down to the south (kumasi & accra to discharge their duties as kayoyes. and, my question to the northern elite is, if they cannot implement some programs and investments in the north to sustain their brethren than to see their own kinds sleeping all over in the filthy market places and the stores with their children tucked to their breasts, would it be also of much burden to advise themselves to have fewer children to be able to care for them than always relying on the freebies which does exist?
Mr. Figure-Out 10 years ago
In real sense the poverty situation in Ghana, as of now, is not limited to the North only, as some people would want us to believe, but relatively, it persist, transcend and transpire across the length and breath of the nati ... read full comment
In real sense the poverty situation in Ghana, as of now, is not limited to the North only, as some people would want us to believe, but relatively, it persist, transcend and transpire across the length and breath of the nation. The cause of poverty in the North is of numerous facets of which human factor is the most cardinal. Readers should not get me wrong here because I have been there before and know what am talking about. The mighty God has endowed the geographic North of Ghana with huge arable lands suitable for mechanized commercial farming, especially for the cultivation of staple crops. The soil is so fertile and tilling for cultivation is much easier compared to any farming community in the nation. But what do we see? After spending the tax paying Kookoase folks money to educate my Northern cousins, they fail to grab the more lucrative opportunities and niceties in farming right under their noses and move down south for some menial jobs which rather worsen their plight as true Ghanaians. What is so sad is that those my half cousins abandon their more sanitized homes in the North only to compete with the Togolese Trokosi squatters in shanty towns and slams in Accra and Kumasi, the capital of Kookoase. I support SADA if the intended purpose of funds raise for the project is judiciously administered. The areas I would wish Mahama to invest more is road infrastructure, more hospitals and schools but the free education should be abolished now. I see no reason why a school teacher in Hohoe pay school fees for his five kids while his colleague in the North, with say two or three wives and 15 kids , have free education for all of them . At best, if the free education system is to be maintained then a law must be passed that would restrict Northerners to one man one kid, otherwise there should be free education for all.
MD-Kansas 10 years ago
Politicians still money far more than what is given to the North for feeding grants. Some people just comments without reasoning because they are already angry for the fact that government continue to support the northern kit ... read full comment
Politicians still money far more than what is given to the North for feeding grants. Some people just comments without reasoning because they are already angry for the fact that government continue to support the northern kits. I am from the north and never benefited from those feeding grants because I went to high school in Accra. That is not to say that my family members are not beneficiaries of the program, they are. However, we should not forget that after Kwame Nkrumah, succussive governments have failed to put in place a new program to replace the 50 years free education for the north. It is no longer free as some of you claimed. My cousin in Wa senior high pay fees including books, just to let you know. Also, Kwame Nkrumah never intended to allow the program to run for far too long. The stomach politicians we have in Ghana both past and present did not restructure the educational policy in the north to make it fair, comparable to the south, but have worsen it. So we will rather have the gov't send the money to feed the kits than to embezzle it. I have never disagree with Sarpong on the matter, but he should know that all the political leadership in Ghana think the same. No better policies from all of them after Nkrumah.
We should not also forget that students goes to schools in different regions for a purpose. It is the same reason why everyone want to go to Legon for Bachelors or masters degree when there are UST and Cape Coast Universities. The north situation will change completely if Ghana get a visionary leader who inspire the northern farmers to rise up and take the challenge. A government that will support agric 100% to ensure that farmers are self sufficient and can pay their ward fees and still feed them.
MD-Kansas 10 years ago
Error corrected. Politicians STEAL money!
Error corrected. Politicians STEAL money!
jingoisis 10 years ago
Just slither into the hole you crawl from, Akadu; you are a disgrace to the academy world.......
Just slither into the hole you crawl from, Akadu; you are a disgrace to the academy world.......
OKOE 10 years ago
FOR OVER FIFTY YEARS PEOPLE OF THE NORTH ENJOYED THIS PRIVILEGE. HOW MANY GHANAIANS HAVE THEIR OWN AIRCRAFTS? PERSONS FROM THE NORTH ARE NOT POOR COMPARED TO THE GENERAL POPULATION OF GHANA, AS SUCH, THIS PRIVILEGE MUST STOP. ... read full comment
FOR OVER FIFTY YEARS PEOPLE OF THE NORTH ENJOYED THIS PRIVILEGE. HOW MANY GHANAIANS HAVE THEIR OWN AIRCRAFTS? PERSONS FROM THE NORTH ARE NOT POOR COMPARED TO THE GENERAL POPULATION OF GHANA, AS SUCH, THIS PRIVILEGE MUST STOP. PERSONS FROM THE NORTH ARE RICHER AND THIS FREEBY MUST END. I AM NOT A BIGOT. I AM JUST STATING THE FACTS UNTIL I CAN BE PROVED WRONG.NOW, ARE PERSONS FROM THE NORTH POORER THAN MOST GHANAIANS? OF COURSE NOT, THEN WHY THIS ADVANTAGE.
KK 10 years ago
If there is a lo of outcry on this issue which is not limited to the pages of ghanaweb, then an independent committee need be set up to review the whole Northern Scholarship issue. The committee will examine the issue critica ... read full comment
If there is a lo of outcry on this issue which is not limited to the pages of ghanaweb, then an independent committee need be set up to review the whole Northern Scholarship issue. The committee will examine the issue critically basing their decicisions on expert advice, research in the area, representations from interested partners and any other relevant considerations.
The membership of the committee should be chosen fairly and be representative of a wide variety of Ghanaians many of whom will be versed in the area - educationists, parents, economists, etc. Its work must be impartial and recommendations should be invited from the general public of all Ghanaians.
Then, perhaps we can set to rest this issue by scrapping the various programmes or tinkering with them to reflect today's conditions. Perhaps the help may be means-tested or definitely not meant for everybody.
But I have a few questions
1. If a southerner is in the north, does she or he benefit from the programme?
2. What is really the cost to state coffers of the northern freebies?
I am surprised that the writer who is a student in the US writes such bad English full of grammatical errors. His argument is even faulty and based more on emotion than on logic using wrong analogies. He does a poor work of defending the subsidies.
Jingoisis.1 10 years ago
It is never, never true that southerners in the three (3) Northern Regions school free.
Please, don't mislead the discussion. Enough of the freebies. Imagine, the President's father was schooled free, the President himse ... read full comment
It is never, never true that southerners in the three (3) Northern Regions school free.
Please, don't mislead the discussion. Enough of the freebies. Imagine, the President's father was schooled free, the President himself free and his children also free. Meanwhile, the poor civil servant from the south working in the North pays fees for the children. What kind of society is this. Everywhere unfairness, selfishness and greed. Enough must be seen as enough. Boys abre, southerners abre.
YA TE A BRE 10 years ago
AT LEAST THE WRITER HAS REALISED THE MANKARANTA SYSTEM OF LEARNING ARAB CULTURAL VANITY IS USELESS.DO YOU THINK GOLD GROW ON COCOA TREES IN THE ASHANTI AND WESTERN REGIONS?THERE SHOULD BE NO IF AND NO BUT,THAT POLICY MUST BE ... read full comment
AT LEAST THE WRITER HAS REALISED THE MANKARANTA SYSTEM OF LEARNING ARAB CULTURAL VANITY IS USELESS.DO YOU THINK GOLD GROW ON COCOA TREES IN THE ASHANTI AND WESTERN REGIONS?THERE SHOULD BE NO IF AND NO BUT,THAT POLICY MUST BE CANCELLED.
jingoisis 10 years ago
It is an undisputable factoid that southerners who school in the north don't pay fees....did you school in the north? If you did, then you are obviously a loony because southerners who schooled in the north would attest to th ... read full comment
It is an undisputable factoid that southerners who school in the north don't pay fees....did you school in the north? If you did, then you are obviously a loony because southerners who schooled in the north would attest to the fact that they did not pay schools fees at all.......
I attended secondary school in Tamale with southern classmates and the Tamale Municipal Council paid the fees of every single students....the southern boys came from poor families and since they were from the jurisdiction of the council, they were thus entitled to free education..
Mr. Figure-Out 10 years ago
I am privy to a situation where the then headmaster of Salaga Secondary school, ET Adams, was demanding school fees from the only Ashanti boy in the school, Emmanuel Obeng, whose father, a prison officer, was transferred to t ... read full comment
I am privy to a situation where the then headmaster of Salaga Secondary school, ET Adams, was demanding school fees from the only Ashanti boy in the school, Emmanuel Obeng, whose father, a prison officer, was transferred to the North, citing that the free education was for only those people with Northern descent. It took some of us to force the headmaster to abandoned his stupid and unthinkable stance. And from what I gathered, some workers in the North who were not indigenes were compelled to seek transfer from the north because of the bias and hate nature of the that headmaster, ET, Adams.
Yaw 10 years ago
You are an idiot. When did Tamale municipal council start paying school fees? Our taxes paid for you to go to school free not Tamale Municipal Council. Why then are you people calling the National government now to pay your ... read full comment
You are an idiot. When did Tamale municipal council start paying school fees? Our taxes paid for you to go to school free not Tamale Municipal Council. Why then are you people calling the National government now to pay your feeding grant?
JAMES 10 years ago
It is only the primitive Ashantis who would say such stupid things.Even if they are given the free Education today, they will still opt for selling of dog chains and shoe shine. They should give us a break for they are nothin ... read full comment
It is only the primitive Ashantis who would say such stupid things.Even if they are given the free Education today, they will still opt for selling of dog chains and shoe shine. They should give us a break for they are nothinbg but shit eaters! Why should better human beings be responding to tbhse ampit smelling bats?
Mends, The lone Ranger. 10 years ago
Not long ago your ilk used to carry shit on their heads with urine dripping down their faces. Are you therefore surprised that northerners can't use their thinking cap hence the abject poverty you and your folks find yourself ... read full comment
Not long ago your ilk used to carry shit on their heads with urine dripping down their faces. Are you therefore surprised that northerners can't use their thinking cap hence the abject poverty you and your folks find yourself in. You can have a northerner as ' president ' but, you'll continue to wallow in poverty and subservient to Asantes. Come to Kumasi and see your girls and women carrying goods on their heads like your men used to carry shit on their heads. So the status quo will continue till thy kingdom come.
Mr. Figure-Out 10 years ago
I know a shoe shine boy who dwell in a house built from the sweat of his labor. Corrupt retired supreme justice, Trokosi Pkegah is till occupying government flat and cannot even pay his rent. That is the stark difference bet ... read full comment
I know a shoe shine boy who dwell in a house built from the sweat of his labor. Corrupt retired supreme justice, Trokosi Pkegah is till occupying government flat and cannot even pay his rent. That is the stark difference between Kookoase folks and you Togolese Trokosi squatters.
Kofi 10 years ago
But your father carry the shit of apes on his head.
But your father carry the shit of apes on his head.
Mama. HOPE 10 years ago
But highly educated northerners e and rich people from the North including the Presidents father benefited and still benefit while jobless and lowly paid southerners worki in the north don't get free education for their child ... read full comment
But highly educated northerners e and rich people from the North including the Presidents father benefited and still benefit while jobless and lowly paid southerners worki in the north don't get free education for their children and wards. What a discriminatory system.
BOY KOFI 10 years ago
It's illogical for govt to finance only the students in the North without conditions.There are many poor families in the South who cannot pay for theirs too.After all,social intervention should be conditional for everybody.If ... read full comment
It's illogical for govt to finance only the students in the North without conditions.There are many poor families in the South who cannot pay for theirs too.After all,social intervention should be conditional for everybody.If you don't have enough resources to take good care of yourself and children then I do agree the govt assist a bit but not to finance somebody who has enough resources to stand on his own feet.That is why I don't support free assistance without conditions.The very needy must proof beyond doubt that he has no revenue at all or just too little.This is the responsibility of our administrators who are refusing to think.Thank you.
KKO 10 years ago
You obviously did not understand Sarpong's article. How much money goes into the feeding of those students in boarding schools, much of which is probably stolen anyway, ala Nkomfem and tree planting? Just imagine those monies ... read full comment
You obviously did not understand Sarpong's article. How much money goes into the feeding of those students in boarding schools, much of which is probably stolen anyway, ala Nkomfem and tree planting? Just imagine those monies being directed into the construction of day schools.
On the other side of the coin, that policy has not really benefited the three regions or Ghana that much. Most of the useless wars in those regions that have cost the poor Ghanaian taxpayer trillions in the past fifty years could have fed ALL school children in Ghana several times over. And the wars are mainly caused by the people who have benefited from the free education. In other words, has not been value for money.
There are equally poor areas in the south that can do with free boarding school meals, if you come to think of it!
BOY KOFI 10 years ago
NPP was the party who campaigned for Free SHS but where are they now?Thank you.
NPP was the party who campaigned for Free SHS but where are they now?Thank you.
CARDINAL 10 years ago
Yes they did and Northerners voted against it therefore either we all enjoy free education or nobody does.
Yes they did and Northerners voted against it therefore either we all enjoy free education or nobody does.
jahlove 10 years ago
POVERTY HAS NOT BEEN RESTRICTED TO ONLY THE THREE NORTHERN REGIONS.
THERE ARE MANY VERY, VERY POOR PEOPLE IN THE 7 OTHER REGIONS BESIDES UPPER WEST, UPPER EAST AND NORTHERN REGIONS.
MANY, MANY CHILDREN AT THE SOUTH ARE NOT ... read full comment
POVERTY HAS NOT BEEN RESTRICTED TO ONLY THE THREE NORTHERN REGIONS.
THERE ARE MANY VERY, VERY POOR PEOPLE IN THE 7 OTHER REGIONS BESIDES UPPER WEST, UPPER EAST AND NORTHERN REGIONS.
MANY, MANY CHILDREN AT THE SOUTH ARE NOT BENEFITING FROM SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATION BECAUSE THEIR PARENTS ARE VERY POOR AND CANNOT PAY FOR THEIR EDUCATION. IT IS UNFAIR FOR THE GOVERNMENT TO ASSIST THE POOR CHILD IN THE NORTH TO HAVE DECENT FREE EDUCATION BUT DENY THE POOR SOUTHERN CHILD EDUCATION.
NO WONDER THE BIAS POLICY HAS RESULTED IN A SITUATION WHERE MORE NORTHERN CHILDREN CAN FLUENTLY EXPRESS THEMSELVES IN ENGLISH AND THEY HAVE HIGHER CHANCES OF EMPLOYMENT THAN THEIR SOUTHERN COLLEAGUES.
LET'S GIVE EQUAL CHANCE TO ALL GHANAIANS.
ABDUL-KARIM YAKUBU 10 years ago
Allhamdullilaih.I humble thank Allah, we stiil have concern people like you Mr Najeeb may Allah richly bless you.But to Mr Justics Sarpong,Allah will never grant his wish and may Allah favour us with compassion and mercy towa ... read full comment
Allhamdullilaih.I humble thank Allah, we stiil have concern people like you Mr Najeeb may Allah richly bless you.But to Mr Justics Sarpong,Allah will never grant his wish and may Allah favour us with compassion and mercy towards the needy.AMEEN!!!.
Is this a sick joke? According to Mr Najeeb, there is no nation called Northern Ghana and I never said there was but for Mr Najeeb to try to imply that there is not a Northern And Southern Ghana is really juvenile because the ...
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Why does a student from Bolga have to go to school at Tamale? I read Mr Sarpong article and don't remember him saying all boarding schools in the North should be abolished but he suggested that, we should have more day school ...
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The fact that there are very few boarding schools in the U.S. does not mean Ghana government should modify or change our boarding school system. We should not follow blindly.
iF YOU WANT TO COMPARE THE USA(WHICH YOU OBVIOUSLY DO NOT UNDERSTAND) TO GHANA DO THAT WELL? DO THEY PAY FEES IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS? WHO COVERS THE COST? DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHY BOARDING SCHOOLS WERE PROMOTED BY NKRUMAH? COMPARE WI ...
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So you think they don't pay fees? Do you think the money for these schools budget fall from heaven? Have you heard of the SCHOOL DISTRICT TAXES? This is taxes collected on properties where these schools are located specifical ...
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All must pay. Free school feeding, northern school grant, free school , join army/ police or government appointment free n free accommodation . All must pay
The problem with literate bigots is that they actually pose the right questions but can never bring themselves to logically answer them objectively.They are forever blinded by hatred that befuddles their little brains.The lik ...
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Thanks, you have made my day.
what he simply means is that whether northern Ghana or southern Ghana it is one Ghana,one nation and one people with a common destiny.so in my opinion there is nothing wrong with it.i support him.(mr Najeeb).....
I will support Najeeb too if I have a system that is specifically for my region that will allow me to breed like rats and not worry about my children education.
Cardinal move to the welcoming north and get over your sentiment. You can be free to give birth to as many children as possible and send them to the northern boarding schools so that you can equally be assimilated as a northe ...
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mr sarpongs article need dispassionate discussion.first,it does not make sense to implement a policy for over 5o years without review.how will me najeeb reconcile the following; nurses who had completed school last year had t ...
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I thought Mr. Sarpong wa s adequately informed about the history of the Northern scholarship and be in the position to tell when it is enough. But unfortunately he is completely ignorant so far as the scheme is concerned. Thi ...
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What did you fool teach us about that Cardinal lacks of. Since you yourself came out with empty respond what did we learn from you that would have been contrary from what we all know about that people from the north get free ...
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Tell us what he said that is not true because so far you have failed to tell us.
Umar Najeeb, your statement ' that is, subsidizing the school fees of Northerners is discriminatory' is factually incorrect and misleads readers. Fee free education in Ghana has existed since 1952, just one year after Kwame ...
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Sarpong don't mind that free loader called Najeeb. What an imbicile that he is. We are determined to make sure eithier we all get free education for all ghanaians or scrap that freebies for the three northern regions.
If Mahama can refer to himself as a son of Northern Ghana, then let it be known from today that I Vodoo Xebieso should be known as the son of Volta Ghana.
Najeeb you have scored several own goals. Ama who is working is obliged to give money to Umar .So what you the past beneficiary doing to financially support the poor you rightly identified.? You have been taught how to fish s ...
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UUUH ALLAH SHOULD GRANT US THE WISDOM TO UNDERSTAN MR NAJEED!!!
Thank you for the rejoinder and being civil but i think you need to go back and read Sarpong's article carefully. I think the issue of free education needs to be reviewed. The argument and debate as to whether there is free e ...
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Thank you. It's sad Mr Najeeb decided to write a rejoinder to my article without reading it well.
First I did not suggest boarding school in the North should be scrapped entirely but rather suggested that those who want th ...
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You are not making any coherent argument here? Who is suggesting 14 year olds should go and hire a room and go to secondary school?
If you are from Wa, why do you want to go to secondary school at Yendi? Your argument does n ...
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Fiifi I believe in your district every 5 kilometer square area has a secondary school, so students will not still need to rent accommodation if those schools are turned into day schools.
It's unfortunate people who call themselves 'Northerners' continue to think that they deserve special treatment from government. A lot has changed between the time of independence and now. Poverty abounds in all regions of G ...
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Hey Mr Mohammed or what you call yourself, you are now playing it low. Ghana has had enough babyfeeding the northerners which you do not want to admit. Ghana has had two presidents from the north and now almost all the interl ...
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Is time to review the scholarship grant for our cattle brothers
Just allow your poor children to troop to the north for the free scholarship.
Mr Umar Najeeb Mohammed, I think this rejoinder in response to an article written by Mr Justice Sarpong, fails to address points by Mr Sarpong, and his line of reasoning.
Going by my understanding, Mr Justice Sarpong, sugg ...
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Yes,I think its time those grants are scrap of.Training colleges allowances and subsidise school grant were put in place to encourage people in those days.
Mr Umar Najeeb Mohammed, I think this rejoinder in response to an article written by Mr Justice Sarpong, fails to address points by Mr Sarpong, and his line of reasoning.
Going by my understanding, Mr Justice Sarpong, sugg ...
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thank u najeeb for ur kind response. u had ur tone right
Mr Umar Najeeb Mohammed, I think this rejoinder in response to an article written by Mr Justice Sarpong, fails to address points by Mr Sarpong, and his line of reasoning.
Going by my understanding, Mr Justice Sarpong, sugg ...
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Mr Umar Najeeb Mohammed, I think this rejoinder in response to an article written by Mr Justice Sarpong, fails to address points by Mr Sarpong, and his line of reasoning.
Going by my understanding, Mr Justice Sarpong, sugg ...
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One glaring omission in Umar's article is the fact that southerners who school in the north don't pay fees....at all...like their northern brethren, they school free of charge......
This debate about paying school fees would ...
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When you live on welfare as all Northerners do, people look down on you and that is why Northerners are not respected, think about it.
You are wrong. I live in Obuasi and Accra most of my life and no southerner ever look down upon me. How many southerners own jobs in Accra and Kumasi to talk of employing a northerner? Most of the jobs southerners own are ret ...
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They are on the rise and doing well and should pay to educate their children then.
Your arguments and lame and conclusions are not supported by the evidene. Besides, your comparative lens is jaded, if not broken! If ad you argue, the Ghana is one family, why do you think that the North is the place where st ...
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Akadu, I respect you a lot. I want you to do some reading research, go to the World Bank, UNESCO, UNICEF and similar websites, look at the statistics on poverty and Eudcation in Ghana, research into the real reasons why Nkrum ...
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the president's brother from the north even owns a private jet and some luxurious vehicles compared with his peers in the south. most of the wealthiest academicians in ghana today are from the north, is that not true? i guess ...
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In real sense the poverty situation in Ghana, as of now, is not limited to the North only, as some people would want us to believe, but relatively, it persist, transcend and transpire across the length and breath of the nati ...
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Politicians still money far more than what is given to the North for feeding grants. Some people just comments without reasoning because they are already angry for the fact that government continue to support the northern kit ...
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Error corrected. Politicians STEAL money!
Just slither into the hole you crawl from, Akadu; you are a disgrace to the academy world.......
FOR OVER FIFTY YEARS PEOPLE OF THE NORTH ENJOYED THIS PRIVILEGE. HOW MANY GHANAIANS HAVE THEIR OWN AIRCRAFTS? PERSONS FROM THE NORTH ARE NOT POOR COMPARED TO THE GENERAL POPULATION OF GHANA, AS SUCH, THIS PRIVILEGE MUST STOP. ...
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If there is a lo of outcry on this issue which is not limited to the pages of ghanaweb, then an independent committee need be set up to review the whole Northern Scholarship issue. The committee will examine the issue critica ...
read full comment
It is never, never true that southerners in the three (3) Northern Regions school free.
Please, don't mislead the discussion. Enough of the freebies. Imagine, the President's father was schooled free, the President himse ...
read full comment
AT LEAST THE WRITER HAS REALISED THE MANKARANTA SYSTEM OF LEARNING ARAB CULTURAL VANITY IS USELESS.DO YOU THINK GOLD GROW ON COCOA TREES IN THE ASHANTI AND WESTERN REGIONS?THERE SHOULD BE NO IF AND NO BUT,THAT POLICY MUST BE ...
read full comment
It is an undisputable factoid that southerners who school in the north don't pay fees....did you school in the north? If you did, then you are obviously a loony because southerners who schooled in the north would attest to th ...
read full comment
I am privy to a situation where the then headmaster of Salaga Secondary school, ET Adams, was demanding school fees from the only Ashanti boy in the school, Emmanuel Obeng, whose father, a prison officer, was transferred to t ...
read full comment
You are an idiot. When did Tamale municipal council start paying school fees? Our taxes paid for you to go to school free not Tamale Municipal Council. Why then are you people calling the National government now to pay your ...
read full comment
It is only the primitive Ashantis who would say such stupid things.Even if they are given the free Education today, they will still opt for selling of dog chains and shoe shine. They should give us a break for they are nothin ...
read full comment
Not long ago your ilk used to carry shit on their heads with urine dripping down their faces. Are you therefore surprised that northerners can't use their thinking cap hence the abject poverty you and your folks find yourself ...
read full comment
I know a shoe shine boy who dwell in a house built from the sweat of his labor. Corrupt retired supreme justice, Trokosi Pkegah is till occupying government flat and cannot even pay his rent. That is the stark difference bet ...
read full comment
But your father carry the shit of apes on his head.
But highly educated northerners e and rich people from the North including the Presidents father benefited and still benefit while jobless and lowly paid southerners worki in the north don't get free education for their child ...
read full comment
It's illogical for govt to finance only the students in the North without conditions.There are many poor families in the South who cannot pay for theirs too.After all,social intervention should be conditional for everybody.If ...
read full comment
You obviously did not understand Sarpong's article. How much money goes into the feeding of those students in boarding schools, much of which is probably stolen anyway, ala Nkomfem and tree planting? Just imagine those monies ...
read full comment
NPP was the party who campaigned for Free SHS but where are they now?Thank you.
Yes they did and Northerners voted against it therefore either we all enjoy free education or nobody does.
POVERTY HAS NOT BEEN RESTRICTED TO ONLY THE THREE NORTHERN REGIONS.
THERE ARE MANY VERY, VERY POOR PEOPLE IN THE 7 OTHER REGIONS BESIDES UPPER WEST, UPPER EAST AND NORTHERN REGIONS.
MANY, MANY CHILDREN AT THE SOUTH ARE NOT ...
read full comment
Allhamdullilaih.I humble thank Allah, we stiil have concern people like you Mr Najeeb may Allah richly bless you.But to Mr Justics Sarpong,Allah will never grant his wish and may Allah favour us with compassion and mercy towa ...
read full comment