Editor of the Custodian newspaper, Awudu Mahama has opined that Nana Addo’s implementation of a universal free SHS is a mark that he had achieved what the first president of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah wanted to achieve but could not.
Speaking on the Happy Morning Show’s special editors’ take segment, he explained: “Kwame Nkrumah who was our first president talked about having free SHS. Even with that, it was with a population of less than six (6) million and he was not able to do so. He did it for the northern sector to bridge the gap.
Akufo-Addo’s administration is the only one that has embarked on a universal one. Even though it started with the first-year students, eventually all the students were covered. So, that is a major thing that no one has been able to do”.
According to him, no president even in the fourth republic has been able to match Akufo-Addo’s performance. Giving an example of why that is so, he stated that after about twenty-five (25) years of pursuing the right to information act in the fourth republic, it is only the Akufo-Addo administration that has been able to pass this law.
History has it that the British colonialists introduced the Free Education Policy in Northern Ghana and this was maintained by Dr Kwame Nkrumah, the first President of Ghana after independence to significantly contribute to the development of the area.
The policy was to help bridge the development gap between the then Northern territories which now comprise the five regions of the north (Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Savannah and North East regions) and the south, formerly called the Gold Coast.
In the present day, the Akufo-Addo led administration started a free SHS policy across the country. This policy which was started in September 2017 ensures that every child in Ghana who qualifies for and is placed in a public Senior High School for his or her secondary education will have his or her fees absorbed by the government.
By: Alberta Dorcas N D Armah