General News of Wednesday, 10 October 2018
Source: citinewsroom.com
2018-10-10
Inusah Fuseini, MP for Tamale Central
The Member of Parliament for Tamale Central, Inusah Fuseini, insists the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) will continue to campaign in senior high schools going into the 2020 elections despite an existing GES policy against political campaigns in such schools.
The MP believes this is necessary because students need to know about happenings in the country.
Reacting to the suspension of the headteacher of Tempane Senior high school over NDC’s candidate campaign in the school, Mr. Fuseini said the NPP government is being hypocritical.
According to Mr. Fuseini, the then running mate of the NPP, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia openly campaigned in Senior High schools before the 2016 general election; an act that was not queried by the NDC government.
The Tamale Central MP said students in senior high schools need to understand the government’s actions and policies hence the need for opposition parties to engage them.
“They (NPP) mounted a podium in a school and held a campaign rally they didn’t seek the approval of the headmaster, and the NPP was not charged for impunity, the NPP was not punished. Now we have confused the requirement of voting, with the requirement of expressing a political opinion, we are going to go into the school, they can sack a the headmaster if they want. The children, people have a right to express an opinion about what they feel about a policy.”
A video of the Deputy Organizer of the National Democratic Congress, Joshua Akamba inciting SHS students against the government’s free senior high school policy at the Tempane Senior High has gone viral.
The headmaster of the school has been suspended by the Ghana Education Service over the issue.
GES warns against political activities in Senior High schools
The Ghana Education Service (GES), which has described the development “inciting students against President Nana Akufo -Addo and the Free SHS programme,” has asked political activists to refrain from campaigning in various secondary schools.
“Management of GES condemns such acts and wishes to bring to the attention of the general public, especially political activists that the Ghana Education Service is a non-political state agency with the key responsibility of implementing a pre-tertiary educational policy of the country and wishes to remain as such.”
“Meanwhile, all regional and district directors of Education and Heads of SHS have been directed to ensure that schools and students are not used for political activities without authorization. Management wishes to assure parents and the general public that steps have been taken to ensure that students and school premises are immune from such unwarranted political interference.”
Although GES rules are clearly against political activities in all schools except tertiary institutions, the two main parties often break the rules.
NDC’s Akamba slammed for inciting students against Free SHS
The youth wing of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has since condemned the Deputy NDC National Organizer over the incident.
In a statement, the NPP indicated that the development was a “clear indication of the NDC’s vicious intentions for the free SHS Program.”
While calling on the GES to investigate the issue, the party’s youth wing also called for sanctions against authorities who allowed the incident to take place.
Police invite Mr. Akamba for inciting SHS students against Free SHS
Meanwhile, the police in Garu in the Upper East Region, have invited the Deputy National Organizer of the opposition National Democratic Congress, Joshua Akamba for interrogation.
Mr. Akamba confirmed this to Citi News in an interview, saying “the Police have asked that I should report at the Garu police station.”