Brigadier General (Rtd) Joseph Nunoo Mensah, a former National Security Advisor to the late President John Evans Atta Mills, has expressed disapproval of the current implementation of the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy, calling it "nonsensical" and in need of urgent review.

Speaking at a press conference organized by Nana Kwame Bediako, leader of the New Force, who announced plans to run as an independent candidate in the 2024 elections, on Friday, July 12, 2024, General Nunoo Mensah stated that the original intention of the Free SHS policy was to support underprivileged families who could not afford secondary education.

He criticized the policy's extension to affluent families, including the grandchildren of President Akufo-Addo, labelling it as contrary to the policy's intended purpose.

“The system we had was that the policy should absolve the fee of the ordinary people, fishermen, poor people. How could I have become a CDS today, a fisherman's son, if you don't get anybody to push you?

“The whole idea was to help the children of poor people and it wasn’t meant for the children of rich people. How can President Akufo-Addo's grandson or granddaughter get free education? It is rubbish and nonsensical. It is for people at Teshie, Nungua,” he said.

General Nunoo Mensah criticized the current administration's approach, asserting that the policy should not benefit those who can afford to pay for education.

“People like Nunoo Mensah, my mother was selling plantain yet I became Chief of Defence Staff. There was no way she could have paid my fees. So, the Free SHS is not for ministers who are driving land cruisers, not for the president. It doesn’t make sense, it is stupid, so let us make policies that make sense,” he added.

AM/SEA

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