President Nana Akufo-Addo (right) and Vice-President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia
Vice-President Dr.
Mahamudu Bawumia has displayed the Free SHS novelty as the most outstanding
social intervention for Ghana since the attainment of independence.
For him, it is
an intervention which will continue to impact positively on the lives of all
Ghanaians and the future generation, adding that the government of President
Akufo-Addo credited for the novelty will not relent on its commitment to
quality education for Ghanaian children.
Speaking over
the weekend during the speech and prize-giving day of the Swedru Senior High
School in the Central Region, the Vice-President emphasised that the surest way
to develop a nation is to educate its people.
The government,
he said, was determined to properly position Ghana to take advantage of the 4th
Industrial Revolution.
He recalled how
the NPP then in opposition promised to make secondary education free if elected
in the 2016 presidential and parliamentary elections; a promise which he added
had since been fulfilled with 1.2 million children benefitting from it.
“We are
investing and building capacity for the future of this country. The future of
this nation depends largely on the kind of education that is provided for its
citizenry. It is against this background that the President’s focus is on
provision of quality education for every Ghanaian child irrespective of their
social or economic status in the society. Every Ghanaian child through quality
education must be empowered to become economically independent,” he stressed.
Double Track
He used the
occasion to explain the rationale behind the double track system
which, according to him, is to address the dearth of school infrastructure.
The Vice-President
assured Ghanaians that the system would be phased out when the dearth of school
infrastructure is resolved.
“The fact is
that without the double track system, thousands of students would not be able
to access Free SHS. Those who are criticizing the double track system have not
been able to offer an alternative. Abolishing the double track system means abolishing
Free SHS as we know it,” he pointed out.
Dr. Bawumia stated
that the Free SHS policy should never be put in the hands of those who did not
believe in it and are not committed to it stressing “under Nana Akufo-Addo and
the NPP, the Free SHS is irreversible; it has come to stay!”