General News of Monday, 6 November 2017

Source: mynewsgh.com

Spio Garbrah calls on parents to demonstrate against free SHS

Former Minister of Trade and Industry in the erstwhile Mahama administration Dr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah Former Minister of Trade and Industry in the erstwhile Mahama administration Dr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah

Former Minister of Education in the erstwhile Rawlings regime, Dr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah is calling on parents to demonstrate against the government over the implementation of government’s flagship policy of free Senior High School (SHS).

“It is against the constitutional provision….anybody whose child is in basic level and is paying some fees should make noise”, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) leading member instigated.

According to him, the policy which started while he was in office as then Minister of Education is suppose to cover all Ghanaian children of school going age and not section of it as implemented by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration.

“I was Minister of Education and we were promoting FCUBE [Free Compulsory Basic Education] in NDC time and this is not what we promised”, he spoke on Metro TV’s Good Evening Ghana show.

“If the constitution says make education progressively free then the lower level of education must also be free. You would not know the point the child may fall from the educational ladder…so if the education is as free as possible at the lowest level and as the child goes up and by any accident they drop up it should be at the basic level”, he explained.

“But if you go to the middle level of the educational system and say we will make this part free ……three years of SHS and lower level is actually paying it is a travesty, it against the constitutional provisions and Ghanaians should wake up to it”, the NDC 2020 presidential candidate hopeful admonished.