NDC vs NPP: The educational policies of Mahama and Bawumia compared

The two leading political parties, the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), have both launched their manifestos for the pending December 7, 2024, general elections.

Both the NDC's “Resetting Ghana for Jobs, Accountability and Prosperity” manifesto and the NPP’s “Selfless Leadership, Bold Solutions for Jobs and Business” are focused on job creation aimed at tackling Ghana’s unemployment challenge.

Also, among the proposed policies of former President John Dramani Mahama, the flagbearer of the NDC; and Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the flagbearer of the NPP, is education.

This GhanaWeb article looks at the proposed policies and promises of the two leading parties to resolve the challenges in the nation’s educational sector.

Free SHS Programme:

Both the NDC and the NPP touched on the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) programme. While Dr. Bawumia promised to protect and enhance the policy, Mahama indicated that his government will review the programme to make it better.

Bawumia’s Free SHS:

The vice president promised to protect and enhance the Free SHS/TVET, which he said had increased enrolment into secondary institutions by 83% and achieved gender parity at this level of education.

Mahama’s Free SHS:

Mahama, on the other hand, as part of his promise to review the programme, said his government will improve the Free SHS programme by providing a dedicated and sustainable funding source; decentralise the procurement of food for Senior High Schools to boost local economies; abolish the double-track system to restore a stable one-track academic calendar; and embark on an emergency infrastructure drive to complete abandoned E-blocks, among others.

Promise to Teachers:

Both leading presidential candidates promised to improve the livelihoods of teachers with several policies.

Mahama:

Mahama promised to recruit more teachers, abolish the teacher licensure examination and integrate the licensing process into the final year examination of trainees; scrap the NPP’s mandatory National Service policy for teacher trainee graduates; ensure the prompt employment of newly-qualified teachers; prioritise the timely promotion of teachers; and ensure the availability of funds for their remuneration.

He also promised to institute the ‘Teacher Dabr3’ Project to provide accommodation facilities for teachers within new and existing school buildings, introduce a special allowance—20 per cent of basic salary—for teachers who accept postings to rural and underserved communities, and initiate a scheme to assist teachers in owning vehicles of their choice by offering flexible duty payment arrangements and employer guarantees in partnership with teacher unions and the banking sector.

Bawumia:

Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia promised to recruit more teachers at all levels, with improved conditions of service; continue to develop additional infrastructure for educational institutions to meet the increased numbers; and offer incentives for teachers to buy one vehicle each with an engine capacity of up to 1,800 cubic centimetres (cc).

Promises to Tertiary Education Students:

Tertiary education students also received a fair share of promises from both Dr. Bawumia and Mahama.

Mahama:

The former president promised to promote the recognition of the Prior Learning Certification/Step-Up Certification (SEC) programme to enable artisans in the informal sector to validate and improve their skills and knowledge for academic and career progression, implement a ‘No-Academic-Fee’ policy for first-year students in all public tertiary institutions, including universities, colleges of education, and nursing training colleges; as well as provide continuing students with financial assistance by reintroducing and redeploying the Student Loan Trust Fund Plus and a reformed scholarship regime.

He also said his government would provide free tertiary education to all Persons with Disabilities, provide allowances, student loans, scholarships, and other funding options for teachers and nurses, improve subventions to public universities, and ensure timely disbursements.

He also promised to promote the establishment of Tertiary Endowment Funds (TEF) in partnership with alumni, philanthropists, and corporate Ghana, among others, to support students in public tertiary universities, implement a ‘Bed-for-All’ programme by building on-campus affordable student hostels, expand accommodation facilities through Public-Private Partnerships with universities, and establish a National Research Fund to support and promote indigenous and commercialised research.

Bawumia:

The NPP flagbearer promised to increase the stock of student accommodation in public universities and other public tertiary institutions to address the housing deficit on campuses and make them affordable, and introduce a Free Tertiary Education Scholarship for PWDs.

He also promised to integrate scholarship databases across all the public sector institutions managing such schemes to ensure full visibility, expand eligibility for the Student Loan Scheme to include all post-secondary students, including certificate and diploma programmes, and prioritise and direct a significant proportion of national scholarship schemes towards training and skills development in STEM.

He also said his government would implement, in full, the Centralised Applications Processing Service (CAPS) for tertiary institutions: “You apply once, and pay once”; establish an Open University; and exempt those who, after completion of their tertiary education, have secured jobs from national service.

Below is the full list of educational policies by the NDC and the NPP:

NDC:

1. Introduce the ‘Bright Beginnings Initiative’ to revive early childhood education for the well-being of Ghanaian children and facilitate seamless integration into continuous schooling and lifelong learning.

2. Launch a ‘Furniture for All Initiative’ in partnership with the local carpentry and furniture industry to address the acute deficit at the basic school level.

3. Significantly improve the pupil-to-textbook ratio through the comprehensive provision of curriculum-based textbooks.

4. Embark on an aggressive infrastructure drive to address the increasing phenomenon of schools under trees and rehabilitate dilapidated school buildings.

5. Improve the Free SHS programme by providing a dedicated and sustainable funding source.

6. Decentralise the procurement of food for Senior High Schools to boost local economies.

7. Abolish the double-track system to restore a stable one-track academic calendar.

8. Embark on an emergency infrastructure drive to complete abandoned E-blocks and expand infrastructure in existing SHS and TVET institutions.

9. Continue our policy of providing free laptops/tablets for students.

10. Equip Science Resource Centres in all schools across the regions to support STEM/TVET education.

11. Review the Computerized School Selection & Placement System (CSSPS) to make it merit-based and address corruption.

12. Commence the establishment of regional TVET Centres of Excellence equipped with state-of-the-art facilities to promote innovation and simulate natural work environments.

13. Promote the recognition of the Prior Learning Certification/Step-Up Certification (SEC) programme to enable artisans in the informal sector to validate and improve their skills and knowledge for academic and career progression.

14. Implement a ‘No-Academic-Fee’ policy for first-year students in all public tertiary institutions, including universities, colleges of education, and nursing training colleges.

15. Provide continuing students with financial assistance by reintroducing and redeploying the Student Loan Trust Fund Plus and a reformed scholarship regime.

16. Provide free tertiary education to all persons with disabilities.

17. Provide allowances, student loans, scholarships, and other funding options for teachers and nurses.

18. Improve subventions to public universities and ensure timely disbursements.

19. Promote the establishment of Tertiary Endowment Funds (TEF) in partnership with alumni, philanthropists, and corporate Ghana, among others, to support students in public tertiary universities.

20. Implement a ‘Bed-for-All’ programme by building on-campus affordable student hostels and expanding accommodation facilities through Public-Private Partnerships with universities.

21. Introduce legislation to streamline and regulate the awarding of government scholarships and prohibit the award of scholarships to political appointees.

22. Halt the collateralisation of the GETFund and restore it to its original mandate of educational financing.

23. Establish a National Research Fund to support and promote indigenous and commercialised research.

24. Abolish the teacher licensure examination and integrate the licensing process into the final year examination of trainees.

25. Scrap the NPP’s mandatory national service policy for teacher trainee graduates and ensure the prompt employment of newly qualified teachers.

26. Prioritise the timely promotion of teachers and ensure the availability of funds for their remuneration.

27. Institute the ‘Teacher Dabr3’ Project to provide accommodation facilities for teachers within new and existing school buildings.

28. Introduce a special allowance—20 per cent of basic salary—for teachers who accept postings to rural and underserved communities.

29. Initiate a scheme to assist teachers in owning vehicles of their choice by offering flexible duty payment arrangements and employer guarantees in partnership with teacher unions and the banking sector.

30. Continue with our policy of establishing a public university in every region with a focus on newly-created regions.

NPP:

1. Increase the stock of student accommodation in public universities and other public tertiary institutions to address the housing deficit on campuses and make them affordable.

2. Introduce a Free Tertiary Education Scholarship for PWDs to remove financial barriers to pursuing educational goals.

3. Integrate scholarship databases across all the public sector institutions managing such schemes to ensure full visibility.

4. Expand eligibility for the Student Loan Scheme to include all post-secondary students, including certificate and diploma programmes.

5. Prioritise and direct a significant proportion of national scholarship schemes towards training and skills development.

6. Implement in full the Centralised Applications Processing Service (CAPS) for tertiary institutions: “You apply once, and pay once”.

7. Establish an Open University.

8. Exempt those who, after completion of their tertiary education, have secured jobs from national service.

9. Protect and enhance the Free SHS/TVET, which is truly transforming lives and changing life outcomes for millions: since we started Free SHS/TVET, enrolment has increased by 83%. We are building the foundation for a well-educated, prosperous society. With Free SHS/TVET, we have achieved gender parity. More girls are getting secondary education, and the impact will be positive for society.

10. Recruit more teachers at all levels, with improved conditions of service.

11. Continue to develop additional infrastructure for our educational institutions to meet the increased numbers.

12. Offer incentives for teachers to buy one vehicle each with an engine capacity of up to 1,800 cubic centimetres (cc).

BAI/AE

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