Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, the vice-presidential candidate for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) alongside presidential candidate Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has asserted that the Free Senior High School (FSHS) initiative represents the most significant educational reform ever witnessed in Ghana.
He emphasized that before President Akufo-Addo’s administration in 2017, the educational landscape was severely compromised during the tenure of former President John Dramani Mahama.
He noted that the Ministry of Education was burdened with substantial debts and outstanding arrears that the Mahama administration failed to address. In a recent interview on Peace FM’s ‘Kokrokoo’ morning program, NAPO expressed his views.
The Free SHS policy has taken a lot of kids off the streets. They no longer sell dog chains along the street. Every child has been enrolled onto the free SHS programme. Teenage Pregnancy has been reduced drastically in Ghana with the introduction of Free SHS.
The Free SHS has been the biggest single transformational tool to the citizenry of Ghana.
He acknowledged that while the educational policy is not without its flaws, it is essential for education to progress. Consequently, the Bawumia-NAPO administration is committed to ensuring significant advancements within the education sector.
He refuted the claim that the implementation of the Free SHS program has resulted in a decline in educational quality. He noted that students entering with lower grades from the basic level were provided with additional support through extra classes, enabling them to catch up with their peers who had performed better academically.
According to NAPO, the costs associated with these extra classes were covered by the Ministry of Education during his time as education minister.
