I wrote Edu. Policy for NDC – Amoako Baah

A critic of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), Dr Richard Amoako Baah, has said he wrote an education policy for the party in the lead-up to the 2012 elections.

According to him, he met and advised both late President John Mills and his Vice President John Mahama, at the time, about certain policies that would drive the elections, especially education.

“I have tried, on so many occasions, to help, especially when President Mills was alive. I talked to him and then Vice President Mahama, I talked to him, met him in his office, went to his house several times. Yes, but I mean it didn’t work, they don’t listen and it got worse …that was before the elections and I remember telling them education was going to be key in this election. This was 2012 and education became the key.

“I wrote an education policy for them, they still have it. But it’s almost as if they go and just pick bits of it; instead of the comprehensive programme, they pick bits of it. For example this cancellation of teacher allowances, it’s in my report, because the teacher allowance was being supported by – I think what – the Netherlands and so you are limited as to how many students you can admit based on how much money they are giving you, and, so, I said: ‘OK get rid of it’. That means you can take as many students as you want but not just rid of it, improve teachers’ salaries. If you improve it, it makes it attractive…but that’s not what they did, they just cancelled it,” he explained.

Asked if he was a member of the biggest opposition party, thus his constant criticism of the NDC, Dr Amoako Baah said: “No, I am not a member, contrary to what some people want to say, but there’s nothing wrong [with] being a member. I may become a member, but right now I’m not a member…”