Free SHS: The National Democratic Congress (NDC) running mate has challenged the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) to provide proof that, should the NDC win the election and take office, the NDC will cancel the Free SHS program.
The NDC would examine the program to address the issues plaguing it, as Professor Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang reaffirmed.
Against this backdrop, she maintained, the opposition party's attempts to achieve low-barrier-to-entry cheap political points are intentional when they say the NDC will stop the program.
Her remarks are in line with the majority's assessment that NDC lawmakers are not making enough progress toward passing legislation to control the Free SHS program.
Part of her tour of the Abuakwa North constituency included a speech she was giving at Akyem-Tafo in the Eastern region.
“Anybody who has evidence that John Mahama said anywhere that he would cancel Free SHS should provide it. If the person is unable to do so, let no one take that person seriously. We haven't said anything like that.
“During our time, did you ever hear of the double track? What we have said repeatedly is that there are challenges and these challenges ought to be reviewed,” she explained
The one-day visit to the Abuakwa North constituency took her to the headquarters of the Saviour Church of Ghana at Osiem, where she had a close-door meeting with the head of the church, Opanyin Abraham Edusei.
After the meeting, Professor Naana Opoku Agyemang and her entourage were welcomed to Akyem-Tafo by enthusiastic supporters of the party.
In her remarks, Prof. Opoku Agyemang assured that the next NDC government will make the program better as it did with the progressively free SHS under John Mahama's first term.
“We started the progressively free SHS because we knew paying fees was a burden for parents. However, there were some parents who could afford it whilst others could not. Should such children be denied the opportunity to go to school?”
“During our time, we took care of their shoes, and bags, among others, and nobody ever heard about a shortage of books.
“If anybody wakes up today claiming that the NDC is against Free SHS, the person doesn't know what he is saying,” she stated.
From the chief's palace, she visited the Akyem-Tafo palm oil extraction factory which was gutted by fire, destroying properties and gallons of palm Oil.
The NDC running mate whilst assuring victims of the fire outbreak of fixing the broken factory, donated an amount of fifty thousand cedis to support them.