Information Minister Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid has asked the public to ignore Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta’s opinion that the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy be reviewed to target the poor while the rich are made to pay for their children’s second-cycle education.
According to him, the vision of President Nana Akufo-Addo is a free-for-all SHS programme and that is what government will pursue.
The Minister told journalists at the Regional Coordinating Council in Tamale on Tuesday, 31 July 2018 that government will not reverse the policy.
“… The person whose vision we are driving is the vision of the President of the Republic of Ghana and the President of the Republic of Ghana’s vision is that every child who goes to secondary should go to the secondary for free.
“The Finance Minister’s opinion does not stand in the face of the President’s vision. It’s not going to happen. The Finance Minister does not have a locus. His opinion is dead”, Dr Abdul-Hamid said.
According to him, “It is not even in his [Mr Ofori-Atta’s] bosom to bring an educational matter to Cabinet. It is only the Education Minister who can, so he can only go and lobby the Education Minister to come to Parliament and there is no Cabinet decision that must go contrary to the NPP manifesto, finished.”
Mr Ofori-Atta had suggested that the Free SHS policy must be implemented discriminatorily so that those who have the means are made to pay for their children’s second-cycle education.
Implementation of the policy started in September 2017 with about 90,000 students. It covers the full fees of students who attend public senior high schools.
Speaking to Bernard Avle in an interview on Citi TV, Mr Ofori-Atta said: “I don’t think it [Free SHS] is something any of us can compromise on”, adding that: “It may be that there have to be changes in the way in which we are administering it”.
“I can’t take my child to Achimota or Odorgonno and then leave him or her and drive away and Ken Ofori-Atta not pay anything while I can pay for 10 people. … You need to get the data to then be discriminatory in how and who pays and who doesn’t pay”, he said.
Speaking about the next academic year, he said: “You actually going to have, maybe, 180,000 more people but it’s so important, you’d rather make that mistake – if it is a mistake – to get everybody in the system for the nation to then begin to have a conversation and say: ‘OK, this is good for us because we want that human capital and to a certain level, but maybe let’s begin to adjust it this way’”
But Mr Hamid maintained that: “If we go into another election and we want to revise the manifesto that’s another matter but now the 2016 manifesto says that we are implementing Free SHS for rich children and for poor children and that is what it shall be.”
Source: classfmonline.com
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Noise maker.I pity his future.
THE TRUTH IS ONLY ONE,HAMMID I AM VERY DISAPPOINTED IN YOU.BCAUSE OF POLITCAL EXPEDIENCY U PEOPLE ARE TRYING AT ALL COST TO IMPLEMENT THIS FREE SHS THING WHILES U KNOW VERY WELL THAT THERE IS NO MONEY TO SUPPORT THIS.PLZ DO NOT DISORGANISE THE SECOND CYCLE SYSTEM LEAVE IT INTACT,ALREADY WE NO DEY SEE TOP THOUGHTLESS OF DOUBLE WHATEVER SYSTEM
There nothing free in this world. A section of Ghanaians are paying for the "free shs" and it is becoming a burden. The finance minister is the one in charge of our finances and he knows the country cannot afford it. What is pursuing a vision or a policy which cannot be implemented efficiently?
Hamid has forgotten that the money being used for free education is not HIS money or NPP money. When people get political power they forget...and they will see
When it is coming it is doing. The falling of the truants.I tot this should be an in-house sorted matter or. The finance minister is being real.
Ei, so they have started defining ofori atta for saying the obvious truth. Just because of political expediency the truth is now to be sacrificed. Asem ooooooo!
he is already a noise maker...he opens his mouth wide when talking as the whole world is coming to an end.
So you are attacking the finance minister too, he just expressed his opinion as government chief cashier,i perfectly agree with his opinion that it should not be paid for everybody.Even if the ministries are arranged in order of importance his ministry comes before you, if you have no point keep mute you are becoming a noise maker.