News:
November 10, 2017
Former Deputy Minister of Education in charge of tertiary, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has said it is untrue for the Minister of Education Matthew Opoku Prempeh to claim that the previous administration under former John Mahama did not cater for the fees of beneficiaries of its progressively free Senior High School policy.
Mathew Opoku Prempeh Tuesday told parliament that former President John Mahama neglected students who were supposed to enjoy the policy by refusing to pay their tuition fees as promised.
“The second year of his progressively free SHS was being extended to 100,000 students in boarding schools…till president Mahama left, not a single student had been on that financial scholarship,” he said.
According to the North Tongue legislator, “The Minister would have been accurate if he had stated that they inherited arrears but to say that the NDC Government was not committed to the Progressively Free Programme and therefore did not provide a “farthing” is to dabble in falsehood and absolutely mislead Parliament”.
He further revealed that the previous National Democratic Congress Government began the implementation of the progressively free programme in 2015/2016 academic year. And for the first time released all funds being GHs 12.78 million Ghana cedis which covered the period September to December 2015.
A second release of 17 million Ghana Cedis was effected for the second term covering January to April 2016.
By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com