The 2016 presidential candidate for the Progressive People’s Party (PPP) and businessman, Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom, has commended the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government for its bold attempt at making senior high school education free in Ghana.
According to him, the ‘Free SHS’ policy is good, but has not gone far enough, saying, “… what Ghana needs is free compulsory and continuous education, that starts from Kindergarten to the end of senior high school, and the Progressive People’s Party will continue to push for that.”
Dr. Nduom was speaking at the PPP’s 4th National Convention held in Bolgatanga, the Upper East Regional capital, over the weekend. The event was under the theme, “Election of MMDCEs for Rapid National Development.”
Hundreds of party functionaries, members and supporters from all over the country participated in the programme.
Since the Progressive People’s Party emerged and started contesting elections, it has consistently advocated for standardized schooling facilities across the country, and also the abolition of the current way of administering the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) – which ends basic eucation in Ghana.
The party wants to see the implementation of an educational system with standardized facilities that will promote the mental and social development of the youth and also ensure a 13-year compulsory, continuous and free basic education that stretches from Kindergarten to the senior high school levels.
Currently, the New Patriotic Party, under the leadership of President Nana Akufo-Addo, is implementing a free education policy, where only first-year students in the various public senior high schools across the country are benefiting.
There have been calls to get the current SHS 2 and 3 students to also benefit from the policy, but the government insists on expanding the number of beneficiaries gradually. Meaning, during the next academic year, SHS 1 and 2 students will benefit and by the end of the 2019/2020 academic year, all senior high school students will have benefited from the policy – and will continue uninterrupted, according to the government.
Touching on the New Patriotic Party’s ‘One District, One Factory’ policy, Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom again commended the government, but said the programme, in its current form and implementation style, has not gone far enough to bring out the needed development.
“…what Ghana needs is an organised infrastructural development and industrial estates with water, road network, electricity and parks that make investments work. And so, I want Nana Akufo-Addo to remember the Komenda Sugar Factory, the Ayensu Starch Factory and others. What we need as a country is not isolated factories here and there; we need a critical mind for investment to be successful. … so you just can’t have 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 factories here and there; one factory for every district. We need industrial estates,” the former PPP standard bearer charged.
Dr. Nduom promised that the PPP would continue to bring out good ideas and support positive policies by the government that would improve the lives of the people of Ghana.
“… but as citizens, we reserve the right to criticize when we think the situation calls for that. All we are asking for is, equal opportunities for all Ghanaians.
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