Even though many schools in deprived areas have been crying for desks for pupils, Minister for Education, Matthew Opoku Prempeh popularly known as NAPO, says pupils lying of the floor to learn in the classroom is better than them roaming the streets and falling victims to rapists.

Speaking about the various challenges facing the educational sector on Adom TV’s morning show ‘Badwam’, the minister told Omanhene Kwabena Asante that “It is better for school children to study on the floor than to roam the streets with cows and end up drinking dirty and contaminated water”.

According to him, government has delivered on some of its major campaign promises such as Free Senior High School education, restoration of nursing training allowance, increase in capitation grant to 200% and supply of free textbooks to schools.

He added that government is still putting some measures in place to expand the infrastructure facilities in some institutions.

He stressed that "It is better to chew corn served by your wife than to drink water from the gutter."



President Akufo-Addo during a visit to the Brong Ahafo Region promised that All Senior High Schools (SHSs) will see massive infrastructural development by the end 2018.

He told traditional rulers in Sunyani that 42 Community SHSs, would be upgraded to a model status while 75 selected SHSs would be expanded so that a lot more students can benefit from the Free Senior High School policy.

The major campaign message of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) before the 2016 general elections was to make Senior High Schools (SHS) free.

Due to that President Akufo-Addo during the 60th Anniversary celebration and the Speech and Prize Giving Day of Okuapeman School in Akropong in the Eastern Region stated that “Government of Ghana will fund the cost of public senior high schools for all those who qualify for entry from the 2017/2018 academic year onwards.”

“By free SHS we mean that in addition to tuition which is already free, there will be no admission fee, no library fee, no science centre fee, no computer lab fee, no examination fee, and no utility fee; there will be free textbooks, free boarding and free meals, and day students will get a meal at school for free.” President Akufo-Addo said.

The President added “Free SHS will also cover agricultural, vocational and technical institutions at the high school level. I also want to state clearly again that we have a well-thought-out plan that involves the building of new public senior high schools and cluster public senior high schools.”