Africa Education Watch has reacted to the announcement by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to pay for entry-level admission for level 100 students in public tertiary institutions.

The think tank wants the party to target the policy and not implement it in a wholesale manner since that will come with challenges. It said those who are needy or from deprived homes should be the beneficiaries.

Africa Education Watch’s Public Relations Officer, Kwasi Nomoh Junior, emphasized the need for the government to invest heavily in pre-tertiary education to improve quality and make Ghanaians proud to send their children to public basic schools.

The think tank also emphasized targeting deprived or low-income households to benefit from secondary education through data from the Ghana Statistical Service.

“When it comes to tertiary education, our call has been for authorities to target needy students because they are the ones who are unable to access tertiary education. The idea was for the Student Loan Trust Fund to help address this challenge. But the loan scheme is reserved for students.

"Some individuals are unable to go to university because they are unable to pay their admission fees, and the NDC is planning to remove that barrier. That is positive news. However, we have to implement it by targeting those who are needy, and by doing that, we could do more than what has been proposed.”

Speaking on Frontline on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM, he stated that if the strategy is targeted, more resources will be available to go beyond the NDC’s intended level 100.

He said that anything that improves education and access must be pursued, emphasizing the need for the NDC to use all available data to target people who are needy or require support in accessing tertiary education.

He stressed that “when targeted, we will have more resources to expand the initiative and even pay beyond the level 100 proposed. It is not too late for the NDC to go back to the drawing board and reevaluate this policy and come back with a refined one aimed at targeting those who really need assistance because the funds that are expected to roll out this initiative are 15% of the free SHS budget or its equivalent.

"So, the party must go back and take a look at the policy. This is important because we do not want a repetition of the challenges confronting the implementation of the free SHS policy.”

He added that about 125,000 people were admitted to level 100 in our various public schools for the 2022 and 2023 academic years, with an average academic fee of GH¢2,200, which will require GH¢270 million annually for this NDC policy, representing 10% of the free SHS budget.

He also asked the NDC to provide further and better particulars so stakeholders could engage and ask further questions.