Ex-President John Mahama has made a passionate appeal to President Nana Akufo-Addo to convene a national stakeholder’s dialogue on the implementation of the Free Senior High School policy.
Speaking at Somanya in the Eastern Region on Saturday, Mr Mahama said there was no dispute about the concept of free education and that it is the mode of implementation that continue to divide opinions.
He refuted claims his criticism of the programme makes him a doomsayers, urging the government to be open to suggestions from opponents on the policy.
“I want to tell Nana Addo that it is not too late to hold a national stakeholders conference on free Senior High School. We all agree on the concept of free senior high school, where we differ is about progressively,” he said.
He added: “Someone decides we want to implement it within three years, we don’t have enough dormitories, we don’t have enough classrooms, we don’t have enough textbooks, we don’t have enough laboratories, we don’t have enough dinning halls, we don’t have enough administration blocks, and yet we say in three years, for a programme that is so fundamental, you have no policy, two, you have no guidelines, you are just implementing it in an adhoc manner and we say, slowdown.
“Bring parents, bring teachers, bring political parties, bring the religious leaders, bring the chiefs, bring the headmasters, bring all of us together and let us decide on how we can implement it and resolve the problem that we are facing.
“When we say this, they say we are naysayers. It means we don’t like free Senior High School,” concluded.
