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Ladies and gentlemen of the Press, Welcome! Before we dive into the issues at hand, permit us to formally introduce the Council we represent to you. The Regional Student Representative Councils (RSRCs) is an amalgamation of all Student Representative Councils (SRCs) in Senior High Schools, Vocational as well as Technical Institutes across the lengths and breadths of our country. We are a component bloc under the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) and it is against this background that we have invited you here this morning. In the run up to the 7th December elections, several policy statements on education have been made. But as leaders of RSRCs and by extension as students at the Secondary Education level, we are entrenched in our belief that we are better suited to comment on these policies than any other singular stakeholder in this nation. As a component bloc under NUGS, we share the Union�s motto that, �education is a right and not a privilege� and as well believe that by providing commensurate infrastructure, equipping and retaining our teachers and most importantly removing the COST barrier, as espoused by the Presidential candidates of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Progressive People�s Party (PPP) and Convention People�s Party (CPP), we would have gone a long way in addressing one of Victor Hugo�s most popular sayings which says that, �he who opens a school door, closes a prison�. The Presidential Candidates of these political parties in their quest to seek the highest political office of our land have all indicated in varied ways their resolve to providing free compulsory basic education up to the Secondary level and even beyond as backed by Article 25 (1)(b) of Ghana�s 1992 fourth Republican Constitution which states �secondary education in its different forms, including technical and vocational education, shall be made generally available and accessible to all by every appropriate means, and in particular, by the progressive introduction of free education�. The position of all RSRCs in Ghana on this is clear, non-negotiable and would never be mortgaged for any selfish personal/political interest. What we want is a positive show of commitment towards free SHS education and with it should come a commensurate provision of educational infrastructure and a pledge to motivating our teachers as they commit their part towards quality education. We believe that Ghana at 55 years should move away from questioning the essence and feasibility of free education. We have wasted too much time on this already. What we should be doing now is to be seeking further details from our leaders on how they intend to do this. Other Presidential Candidates are being encouraged to see the need for free SHS education NOW other than within the shortest possible time. The cost of free education will be expensive, but it is cheaper when juxtaposed to the number of armed robbery and child prostitution cases that would be visited upon us should things remain like this. According to the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament, Ghana loses $3 billion every year due to lack of proper record keeping. Poor sanitation also costs the country over $290 million annually. This is in addition to over �600 million we lose to preventable judgment debts. If you ask us, as student leaders of Senior High Schools, Vocational as well as Technical Institutes; free SHS, provision of its attendant infrastructure and the training and retention of teachers to complement quantitative access with quality of graduates churned out, is an unavoidable need which any serious political party, cognizant of the potential 700,000 student voters we command must commit to. Our doors are wide open to leaders who are desirous of effecting such a change. SRC, FOR TRUTH FOR PROGRESS! EMANCIPATION OF STUDENTS THROUGH DIALOGUE AND A PHILOSOPHY OF NON VIOLENCE. Signed; Michael Assan Bernard Agyare Coordinator-ERSRC) Tel: 0243648867 Tel: 0248554699