We Demand “FREE EDUCATION” Now with all the Dangers

....Rather Than Slavery in Tranquillity”.

Fellow countrymen, this might sound ridiculous and unacceptable to those hypocrites who enjoyed the fruits of “Free education” in their upbringing. They will say it is an insult and blasphemous to hear this. Those greedy and shortsighted citizens of today will just be happy to see the new African being crucified for reminding our leaders that our children have a “Check” of equality to collect—a check of solidarity to collect. Yes, our children have a check of responsibility and unconditional repentance to collect from our selfish leaders. The so-called leaders will retort that there is no current check of this sort to be collected because our economic and social situations are bad. Moreover, there is no bank in Ghana that can honor such a payment.

Yes, the leaders will assert that, “The free education program introduced by our forefathers had no future. It had no value. It had no laid down constitutional legitimacy”. Yes, the leaders want to tell the youth of today that they have no guarantee. Free education was first introduced for the “Strong and Wise” citizens of Ghana and “NOT” for future Ghanaians. The present government will perhaps support this repudiation of responsibility because it sees no remedy to re-introduce this free education, which they all enjoyed in the past. Out of nonchalance they would say, “We do not have money period!” They will not out of dignifying humility say, “We do not have the “IDEA” to reverse this. They are speechless. They have no eyes to see what they have done to our children. No they have not!

Fellow countrymen, do you agree with them? I would like to refer my readers to what a comrade, Ady Sawyer, once reminded us about during a forum, which he quoted from the Great One’s memoirs on our debate. He states:

“We are committed to human centered development. Recognizing that education is essential for human development, we re-affirm our support for compulsory affordable public education from pre-school through senior secondary school for all Ghanaians. Due emphasis on skills training will be a focal point of this experience.

Further, we:

a. Support uninterrupted access to education from pre-school to the tertiary level;

b. Support the provision of one nutritious meal for all students from pre-school to senior secondary school;

c. Support the use of local languages as a medium of instruction in the first three years of primary education and the introduction of French language as an addition to English in secondary schools will support ICT training in all secondary schools;

d. Will ensure that the educational curriculum and its development is not only appropriate but that it also enhances self-esteem and self-reliance;

e. Will create the environment where educational opportunities are equalized for all areas and continually strive for gender balance and motivate females;

f. Will ensure that the educational system builds middle level technical manpower to accelerate industrialization – this will especially mean supporting the Polytechnics to play a greater role in technical manpower capacity building;

g. Will vigorously promote all of the above as a means of significantly improving the rate of functional literacy in Ghana.

Fellow countrymen, I hope you can guess who made the above provisions. I need not tell those greedy leaders who enjoyed from these provisions about this. Now, 37 years later, the dream is lost entirely. You should all know the leader who deserves such a gratitude for discontinuing this course. Today about 75% of our children are now left in their poor villages doing practically nothing because they cannot even afford elementary education. The children who happen to reside in the big cities had to sell “Dog Chains and diverse accessories” to be able to afford paying tuition and fees. Most of them enjoyed their dream of education by practicing prostitution, drug trafficking, stealing, and other crimes.

No wonder kids who should be in school have fallen prey to slave traders. Parents who cannot afford tuition fees anyway don’t care much if their children played the truant. And neighbours become callous to the fate of these truants because they are in the same economic crunch like the parents of these kids. But for irresponsible policies of governments, the issues at stake could be different. To the governments, keeping these kids in schools is irrelevant. They will say they have their own children at heart and therefore care less. Without any sympathy, they watch these poor kids transported to Togo, Benin, Nigeria, and Gabon, in a complete chain involving those who recruit the children, (and) those who transport them for sale.

Instead of most of our eminent religious leaders and the entire citizens waking up to tell our disgruntled leaders that they are cheats, and irresponsible, our revered pastors rather throw dust into the eyes of our poor children. They ridicule our suffering children with “Praise the Lord, Hallelujah”. They say, “Don?t worry if you do not have education in the society” Nevertheless, they (political leaders, ministers, religious leaders) have already enjoyed their education. Is it not the “Hypocrisy“ I have been talking about? Is it not the same selfishness attitude we are experiencing in our society? These same Charlatan preachers and leaders are taking advantage of the poor and innocent citizens while telling them, “God bless you”.

1. Does the God we believe in, hate his children enjoying free education?

2. Is the God we serve against developing human resources and values?

3. Is our God against the Ghanaian or the Blackman managing his own affairs?

4. Why have most of our children turned away from God?

5. Is it not because of how our leaders and preachers are doing to them?

Someone out there should tell me if this is false.

The child cannot make ends meet in his life, and you tell him, “Praise the Lord, Hallelujah!” When shall our selfish preachers and leaders learn to train our children to be educated and self-productive so that they can perhaps refrain from such immoral attitudes as telling lies, prostitution, drug trafficking, stealing, crimes etc? Perhaps our God hates to see His children develop good manners, doesn’t He?.

Fellow countrymen, the new African will not stop reminding you all of this, till our selfish and irresponsible leaders get on their feet to ensure that there is a “CHECK” to be paid to our children. In this new venture, the “Ghana Social Democratic Movement” shall demand back our “Free Education, with all the attendant dangers rather than be subjected to slavery in tranquillity”. Fellow countrymen, we can never be satisfied as long as our children are victims of wanton discrimination. We should never be satisfied as long as Ghanaians, despite their tremendous financial resources, cannot stand-up and demand equal rights for their children. No, never! We cannot assume satisfaction; and we will not be satisfied until freedom, social justice, accountability, and democracy roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream in our country. No, we shall not be satisfied until our leaders hear our cry from the wilderness. No, we shall not be satisfied until all of us—Africans—realise that we can unite and manage our own affairs.

No, we shall not be satisfied until we are able to tell the colonial stooges and the imperialist-minded leaders to repent from their transgressions against our children, and bring back “Free Education”.

God bless you.

God bless Ghana. We shall overcome.

We wish you all a Happy and productive New Year.