NDC will not abolish free SHS - Victor Smith

Former Ambassador to the UK and Ireland, Victor Smith, says the National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration will not abolish the Free SHS policy if given the mandate to govern.

He said contrary to reports, the NDC is against not the policy and has no intentions to scrap it.

However, he disagrees and finds completely unacceptable the double-track system.

“If we get the mandate to come to power we will not abolish Free SHS but rather we review the policy and find a way of making sure the policy is attractive and efficient,”

“I know the benefits of education to the fortunes of development and so NDC would provide the necessary infrastructure to accommodate all students at once,” Victor Smith exclusively told Kwaku Dawuro on Anopa Nkomo on Accra based Kingdom FM 107.7

Currently, about 362,118 first-year students in public SHSs in the country are benefiting from the policy, with 117,692 of them being day students and 244,426 as boarders.

Due to the increase in enrollment in 2017, the Education Ministry, led by Member of Parliament (MP) for Manyhia South, Dr Mathew Opoku-Prempeh, has projected that enrollment for 2018 may hover around 472,730 against reported available seats of 290,737, leaving a gap of 181, 993.

Free SHS was discredited and described as premature by then-candidate Mahama and the NDC during the 2012 election campaign. The President says nobody has copyright over free SHS, and that the policy is in consonance with the constitution of Ghana.