The deputy ranking member of the Education Committee in Parliament, Dr. Clement Apaak, has provided an educational lesson to the Education Minister, Yaw Adutwum regarding the concept of review.
This response is prompted by a statement from the education minister, and communicators from the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) asserting that the National Democratic Congress’s call for a review of the Free Senior High School (FSHS) implies an intention to cancel the policy.
Speaking at the 63rd anniversary of the Ghana Muslim Mission in Kumasi recently, Dr. Osei Yaw Adutwum stated that any plan to cancel will be resisted because the policy has been successful.
“President Akufo-Addo and his Vice brought Free SHS and they have provided the needed support to make it a success and bring relief to parents.
“If anyone says they will review Free SHS it means one thing. That person wants to cancel it and we won’t allow that,” he stated.
In response to the Minister’s statement, the legislator from Builsa South emphasized that review does not equate to cancellation.
“It’s only PhD holders in NPP who define REVIEW as meaning CANCEL. We ought to question how they obtained their doctoral degrees and must consider petitioning the institutions that awarded them doctoral degrees.
“For the avoidance of doubt, REVIEW means a formal assessment of something with the intention of instituting change if necessary. On the other hand, CANCEL is to decide that an organised event will not happen, or to stop services that you no longer want,” Dr. Apaak stated.
He continued: “How could persons purporting to have earned the highest degree, PhD, say REVIEW means CANCEL? Ghanaians have no appetite for lies this year.”