'Free SHS not in crisis; it was suffering under you and we reviewed it' – Haruna Iddrisu replies Bawumia
Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu has pushed back against claims by New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer Dr Mahamudu Bawumia that the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) programme has deteriorated under the current National Democratic Congress (NDC) government.
Dr Bawumia criticised the state of the programme while addressing the NPP's National Delegates Conference in Kumasi, arguing that its implementation had suffered setbacks since the NDC returned to power.
Mr Iddrisu, however, disputed the claim, saying the government had inherited some of the challenges now being addressed and had introduced measures to improve the programme.
Responding to the former Vice President, the Education Minister said Dr Bawumia's assessment failed to account for difficulties that existed under the previous NPP administration.
“Doctor Bawumia must come again when he says that the Free Senior High School is suffering. Maybe to remind him that it was suffering under him and that required us as a government to review the implementation of the Free Senior High School,” he said.
Mr Iddrisu also dismissed concerns over inadequate food supplies in senior high schools, arguing that the government had revised the funding arrangements for feeding under the Free SHS programme.
He said the decision to uncap the GETFund had provided the government with additional resources to improve food supplies to schools nationwide.
“President John Dramani Mahama has reviewed the Free SHS and its funding mechanism for feeding. With the uncapping of the GETFund, adequate food supplies have been made available to all senior high schools across the country unlike it was in the last eight years of the NPP administration,” he said.
The Minister further challenged Dr Bawumia's claim that the NPP introduced free tuition as part of the Free SHS policy.
According to Mr Iddrisu, tuition at public educational institutions in Ghana has historically been free at all levels since independence, meaning the NPP's contribution should not be presented as the introduction of free tuition.
“When Dr Bawumia says that tuition was free under the New Patriotic Party, that is also not true. Throughout history and since independence, tuition has remained free at all levels of education in Ghana,” he said.
Mr Iddrisu maintained that the government remained focused on improving the implementation of Free SHS while addressing the challenges confronting students and schools.