NDC promises free tertiary education six days to elections
The opposition NDC has promised to absorb fees for all public tertiary students if voted into power.
The promise comes six days to the December 7 elections.
The party, in a statement signed by it’s Chairman, Samuel Ofosu-Ampofoh, said it has amended its ‘Peopls’ Manifesto’ following a recommendation by it’s education policy group.
“This policy is an enhancement of our commitment in the People’s Manifesto to absorb 50% of the school fees of all tertiary students for the 2020/2021 academic year through the “KYEMUPE” policy, which will now apply to only continuing students in tertiary institutions in the country,” the release said.
The amendment of its education promise now makes it akin to the NPP’s version of Free SHS.
Free SHS was a policy introduced in 2017 to absorb fees of second cycle students.
The popular policy which is in its fourth year of implementation has been held out by the governing party at its trump card for victory.
The latest promise by the NDC days to the election is seen by some as an attempt to harvest votes by giving out freebies.
The NDC tertiary education policy has been christened ‘ FA NINYINAA’ to wit ‘absorb all’.
Education has become a tag of war between NPP and NDC since 2008.
The NDC in 2009 revised the duration of SHS to three years after President Kufuor had increased it to four years.
It was President John Agyekum Kufuor’s administration that renamed Senior Secondary School to Senior High School which the NDC maintained despite criticising the name change as unnecessary.
The Mahama-led NDC government would later in 2015 introduce a policy to absorb fees for non-residential SHS students.
The NPP swept into power in 2016 to roll out the free SHS policy.
The government has so far spent at least 2.1billion cedis on 1.2million students in public Senior High schools.
Below is the full statement of the NDC:
BREAKING NEWS:
PRESS STATEMENT
For immediate release
NEXT NDC GOVERNMENT TO INTRODUCE “FA NINYINAA” POLICY FOR GHANAIAN STUDENTS WHO WILL BE ADMITTED TO TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS NEXT YEAR.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC), announces that it has accepted for incorporation in the Peoples’ Manifesto, the recommendation of the Education Policy Group of the party that the next NDC government absorbs the FULL school fees of Ghanaian students who will be admitted to tertiary institutions in the 2020/2021 academic year.
This policy is an enhancement of our commitment in the People’s Manifesto to absorb 50% of the school fees of all tertiary students for the 2020/2021 academic year through the “KYEMUPE” policy, which will now apply to only continuing students in tertiary institutions in the country.
The Flagbearer of the Party, H.E John Dramani Mahama will in due course, throw more light on this enhanced package for Ghanaian students who be admitted to tertiary institutions next year dubbed, “FA NINYINAA”.
DATED THIS 1ST DAY OF DECEMBER, 2020
Sgd.
Cde Samuel Ofosu Ampofo
National Chairman