Former New Juaben North Constituency Chairman, Kwadwo Boateng Agyeman, has launched a scathing attack on NDC flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama, over his pledge to provide free first-year tution for tertiary students when voted into power. Mr Agyeman has denounced Mahama’s promise as a desperate and unrealistic attempt to sway voters.
Mr. Agyeman said Mahama’s free tertiary education pledge is fanciful and a hallmark of a desperate politician craving power. He contended that such a policy is unrealistic, pointing out that no country has successfully implemented a similar program.
Mr Agyeman posited that Mahama’s promise was a knee-jerk reaction to the enthusiasm he encountered during his recent university tour, aimed at countering the NPP’s flagship Free Senior High School (Free SHS) initiative. He implied that Mahama’s pledge was made under pressure, without careful consideration of its feasibility.
Mr. Agyeman expressed concern about the financial viability of Mahama’s free tertiary education proposal, querying how he would source the estimated GH¢4.4 billion needed for the first year alone. He contrasted this with the successful implementation of the Free SHS policy, which has reportedly boosted literacy rates among 4.5 million people, and questioned Mahama’s capacity to fund an even more ambitious and costly initiative like free tertiary education.
He ultimately concluded that Mahama’s free tertiary education proposal smacks of desperation rather than a carefully thought-out policy initiative, suggesting that it is a politically motivated move rather than a genuinely considered plan to address the country’s educational needs.