By Alex Bossman Baafi

Education is the best asset every parent can bequeath to his/her children. I am a practical personal example of what education can do in the life of an individual in this modern age of keen competition for good everything in life. I lost both parents at the age of eleven, living in one of the small insignificant villages in the country. A cousin of mine who adopted me always advised me at those tender ages that with no parents, the only thing than can make me somebody in future was my education.

As someone who cherishes and knows how education can transform lives, I became very disturbed by the headline news on the front page of the Daily Graphic “Students Thrown out of Examination Hall for non-payment of fees” (Please see the front page of Daily Graphic, Thursday May 10, 2012). The story continued that, the lives of final year students of Kumasi Senior High Technical School were put in jeopardy when Assistant Headmaster of the school stormed the examination hall to stop them from writing the Physics Theory paper of the West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE). The unacceptable explanation of the Assistant Headmaster was that he was only carrying out a directive from the Ghana Education Service (GES) to prevent students who owe from writing the examination. After reading the news, I got deflated.

This nasty incidence happened in Kumasi the second largest city in the country. If urban many dwellers cannot afford the high cost of education in our country, then you can imagine what happens in the villages and many deprived communities where the mass majority of our people reside.

The sad story has thrown light on the free SHS education policy of Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo, the presidential candidate of the largest opposition party in the country to make Senior High School education free. In my opinion it will be one of the best policies ever to happen in this country.

There are many potential brilliant students who fail to experience high education because school fees payment poses a problem. Indeed, Nana Addo has been vindicated about the need to make Senior High School Education free in this country. This policy will give hope and future aspirations to our young people.

It is therefore the hope of many good people of this country to wish Nana well to experience a land slide victory in the impending general elections in December this year, so that his laudable dream will see the light of day. Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo- Addo, we wish you well. Best wishes.

Email: abkbossman@yahoo.co.uk