President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has called on Ghanaians not to give the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) mandate in the 2020 general elections to come and cancel the free SHS policy.

Nana Akufo-Addo said the NDC wants to cancel the policy under the disguise of reviewing but reiterated that the policy has come to stay.

Speaking at the 70th anniversary celebration and speech and prize giving day of Prempeh College held on Saturday, 30 November in Kumasi, he said: “the people of Ghana will not allow the dreamers who have still not woken up from the slumber of their defeat in 2016 to come and cancel it under the disguise of a so-called review. I take comfort in the words of the holy scriptures in Ecclesiastes 11:4 and I quote ‘If you wait until the wind and the weather are just right, you will never plant anything and never harvest anything.’”

Mr Akufo-Addo said 1.2 million children have currently been enrolled in SHS which has been the highest enrollment in the history of the country.

He noted that from 2016 to date over 400,000 more students have gained the opportunity to enroll in SHS after the free SHS policy was implemented and that his government intends to make sure no child is denied the opportunity to enjoy SHS education by reason of poverty.

Touching on infrastructure, Nana Akufo-Addo said his government has commenced construction of 972 structures comprising classrooms, dining halls, assembly halls, sanitary facilities, and dormitories in schools across the country adding that sufficient provisions have been made in the 2020 budget for continues construction of the facilities.

He disclosed that the government is also providing a total of 1190 vehicles made up of 350 buses and 840 pickups to schools across the country.

He said the government will continue to address problems that have arisen from the implementation of the free SHS while ensuring quality education in the country.