By Cletus Abaare

The
New Patriotic Party’s political wings and fortunes for the upcoming elections
are nothing much but the fee free Senior High School (SHS) education, being
promised by their Standbearer, Akufo-Addo. Though, he has not been able to
fully convince Ghanaians on how he intends to roll out his promise which is
even being contested by credible persons within his party, he still clipped his
political wings onto such illusion for
the December 7 elections.

But his rival, President Mahama thinks that
education should be made totally free from the basic level and be made progressively
free to SHS level depending on our economy as a constitutional imperative.
There is no problem with the fee Free
SHS policy espoused by Akufo-Addo and his team in the New Patriotic Party to
win political votes but the bigger problem is the linkage of this fee free SHS
policy within the framework of the so-called tested model in the three northern
Regions of Ghana. The Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions of the
country.

The NPP and their ill-informed communication
team members and other ignorance political commentators have been shamelessly
making reference to northern Ghana, arguing that there is fee free Secondary
Education.
They have attacked the personalities of
the President, John Dramani Mahama, Alban Bagbin, Health Minister, Haruna
Idrisu, Communication Minister, and other top Northern scholars and members of
the NDC of being wicked for protesting Akufo-Addo’s promise alleging that they
have enjoyed fee free education.
There has been a deafening silent from
the northern big-wigs who have been cited wrongly by the NPP of enjoying fee
free SHS education and are now rising against the same idea when it’s now going
to be implemented by the NPP across the country.
I do not know whether this is ignorance
or a complete show of laziness to cross check and freely educate members of the
NPP on such an important issue because silence means concern. I mean there is
nothing called fee free SHS education being enjoyed by any single soul in any
part of the three Northern regions. It has never happened even during the time
of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, period.

I grew up in the North, precisely Bawku
West in the Upper East and had my SSS education in the Navrongo Senior
Secondary School. And many others who attended their SSS, Middle Schools etc
never had it free like the NPP would want the whole world to believe. Never we
all paid school fees.

What
we have in the Northern is or could be termed as subsidized education and not
free education. And even the subsidized education, I would share with you fees
paid by students who gain access or admission to Senior High School today in
northern Ghana. I will attempt to juxtapose this with the fees paid by students
in the southern belt and you would judge whether it is subsidized education,
free, or total cost containment by parents. My motive is simple: to diffuse the
perception that education is free in northern Ghana.
STAY TUNE FOR THE DETAILS

Part two of many:
There
Is No
Fee
Free SHS
In
The 3
Northern
Regions
A breakdown of the fees being by fresh
student for 2012/13 academic yr
…Navrongo SHS: GH¢579
…Tamale SHS: GH¢580
…Bolgatanga SHS: GH¢575
…Nakpanduri SHS: GH¢390
By Cletus Abaare
As the Crystal Clear Lens promised its numerous readers of dissecting and exposing
the wicked lies being
peddled mischievously by members of the New Patriotic Party and led by their
Torchbearer
that scholars from the Northern part of the country have enjoyed fee free SHS
education and students from that part are still assessing free SHS education,
we are providing the breakdown for readers to make their own judgments.
Nobody in the
Northern sector had education free andno child in the three Northern regions attends
SHS Free and it is not free today in northern
Ghana. This is a basic fact.
Fresh students entering Navrongo
Senior
High School SHS are paying admission fee of GH¢579, those going to
Tamale Senior High Senior (SHS) GH¢580and those
entering the Bolgatanga SHSpay aboutGH¢575for the 2012/2013 academic year.
Whilst continuing
students in Navrongo Senior High School SHS are paying
a fee of GH¢350, those in Tamale Senior
High Senior (SHS) GH¢360 and those in the Bolgatanga SHSpay aboutGH¢345 for the
2012/2013 academic year
Today admission fee in Nakpanduri Secondary School is GH¢390 while that for
Bunkpurugu Secondary
Technical is GH¢460.5 for 2012/2013 academic year.
Continuing students in Salaga
Secondary School, Business Secondary School in Tamale and St. Francis Girls at
Jirapa in Upper West region, all government supported schools pay an average of
GHc300. These are basic facts that can be cross validated from the heads of
these institutions.
These fees are collected to cover sports, library, examination, SRC,
entertainment, bed user fee, PTA and computerfees
and the same applies the Southern sector Senior High Schools.
Others include; science development, staff incentive and teacher
motivation, development levy, speech and prize, supplementary and supplementary
literature.
The rest are: exercise books, note 3 books, NHIS, house dues,
etcetera. The only fee missing here is tuition and boarding fees. This is where
government subsidizes. Even with government subvention for boarding
accommodation, students still pay bed user fee.
Somebody should tell me how this can be classified as free SHS
education and thus qualify to be a model of a free SHS policy as being
articulated by some NPP supporters and pro-free SHS commentators.
Whether the policy can be achieved or not is a different argument but
certainly, the reference point cannot be northern Ghana. In fact, the fees paid
by students in northern Ghana equal what their counterparts in some southern
schools pay if not beyond what they pay.
So members of
the NPP who laack these basic facts about education in the North especially
with free SHS should not use northern Ghana as a reference
point because nowhere inAkufo-Addo’s proposed Free SHS Policy are parents
required to pay fees of any sort. And thus, the northern SHS educational system
cannot be a model. Otherwise, the object of the NPP free SHS policy is defeated
already without any attempt of implementation.
Stay Tuned
First Lady
Shakes
Ningo-Prampram
… as E.T
Mensah outlines unprecedented achievements in 3yrs
By Cletus Abaare
The
First Lady, Mrs. Lordina Mahama on Monday received a rousing welcome to the
Ningo-Prampram constituency by members of the National Democratic Congress when
she took her working tour to the newly created district to canvass votes for
the President and the NDC party in the upcoming general elections.
Mrs.
Lordina Mahama who was amazed by the crowd and the residents show of love for
the party and their Member of Parliament for the constituency, Hon Enoch Teye
Mensah called for an effective collaboration between chiefs and the security
agencies to sustain national stability towards Election 2012.
She
emphasised that as the embodiment of the people, the role of chiefs is
paramount in peace building since most Ghanaians hold them in high esteem.
Addressing
a mammoth durbar of the chiefs and people of constituency, at Prampram and New
Ningo, Mrs. Mahama noted that the views of chiefs have influence on their
communities whilst their opinions are well respected.
Mrs
Mahama told the chiefs that although they are barred from active partisan
politics; it does not mean that they should remain unconcerned when political
parties engage in activities that could jeopardise national stability
especially in the heat of the electioneering.

She appealed to the people to support
President John Dramani Mahama and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to
retain power to facilitate more development projects.

The
First Lady explained that it is the desire of President Mahama not only to
promote quality education but also ensure that the health needs of the people
are achieved. The First Lady said 2013 is an action year where the citizenry
would witness tremendous improvement in their standard of living through job
creation and poverty reduction interventions.

She
said all these would be a reality when the electorate vote for the NDC and
ensure that national peace is sustained before, during and after the elections.

Hon
E.T Mensah, the MP for the area and Minister of Employment and Social Welfare who
is believed to be walking easily back to parliament after the December 7 elections
emphasised that Government would not tolerate individuals and groups whose
activities could cause tension in Election 2012.
He
advised the political parties to adhere to the electoral laws and conduct their
campaigns based on development issues and admonished chiefs to take the
responsibility to sensitise their people on the need for national peace as the
government had directed the security agencies not to deal leniently with
trouble makers.
The
Minister highlighted many projects that the area has benefited for the past
three years and called on them to vote massively to maintain the NDC government
for more development.
He
noted that political stability, expansion in socio-economic infrastructure and
the unity in development that the traditional area had enjoyed for the past
years was unprecedented.
He
said road network, education and agriculture had all increased and improved. He
added that major roads connecting the area to other areas had been improved
upon.