Free SHS: Obiri Boahen threatens ‘one man’ protest against exclusion of Bono as gov't includes private schools

Nana Obiri Boahen, former Deputy General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has issued a stern warning to the Ministry of Education (MoE), threatening a solo street protest in Accra if private schools in the Bono Region are not added to the list of institutions selected for the pilot phase of the Free Senior High School (FSHS) programme.

He expressed deep disappointment over the omission, describing it as unfair and unjustified.

“If the government doesn’t want any legal tussle, then President Mahama must expedite action and include some of the Bono private schools on the MoE lists,” he warned.

Speaking to journalists in Sunyani on Friday, Nana Boahen stressed the need for urgent intervention by President John Dramani Mahama to address the issue.

“Our region also has the technical private schools and we must also benefit from the pilot project,” he added.

The Ministry of Education recently published a list of private schools selected for the initial rollout of the FSHS pilot. The move is seen by many as a significant milestone in Ghana's push to expand equitable access to secondary education.

However, Nana Boahen—a seasoned lawyer and political analyst—criticised the list, noting that not a single private school from the Bono Region was included.

“It’s unfortunate and unacceptable that none of the private schools in Bono was selected for the pilot programme,” he stated.

He suggested that the omission might have been an oversight but warned that it must be corrected swiftly.

“In fact, if it is an oversight then the MoE must correct the anomaly as soon as possible because the Bono people also deserve better,” he said. “It’s sad and unfortunate that the Bono citizens in government remain silent, unable to fight for their own.”

Nana Boahen said although legal action or public protest could be options, he is calling on President Mahama to personally intervene before tensions escalate.

“We don’t want to go to court now or stage a protest against that unfair treatment and so President Mahama must intervene for the right thing to be done,” he said, calling on Bono citizens to “always make their voices heard” on national issues.

Describing the pilot project as “laudable,” he called for equity in its execution.

“Some of the private schools in Bono must equally benefit for the programme,” he insisted.

He further revealed that after reviewing the list of selected schools, he discovered a glaring inaccuracy.

“I have taken time to go through the first lists of schools released by the MoE and unfortunately none of the private schools in Bono was captured. The MoE must even correct the mistake because the last school on their list is not situated in Bono, but in the Ahafo Region. That implies no Bono school was included and they must do something urgently.”