Former deputy Education Minister,and Current Member of Parliament for the North Tongu Constituency, Hon.Okudzeto Ablakwa has chastised government’s decision do create a public fund to solicit funds to run the flagship Free SHS program.
Hon.Ablakwa this statement on his facebook few hours after the Finance Minister indicated in his presentation of the 2018 budget of government’s decision go create a Free SHS support Fund.
“A Voluntary Education Fund is being set up by the Akufo-Addo led government as part of moves to rally Ghanaians to willingly support the education sector”
According to the North Tongu MP, the introduction of the support fund indicates government’s unpreparedness towards to implementation of the policy.
He lamented on the introduction of the progressively free SHS policy by the Mahama government which was a means of progressively implementing the policy to make sure the policy was possible throughout the country, an idea that he believes was lambasted by the NPP government.
“Why is our suggestion for a targeted intervention based on a needs assessment across all three cohorts being ignored in favour of this backdoor approach?” he questioned.
The MP also questioned whether the expected volunteering parents will prefer to pay into a remote fund where they are unsure if their wards will ever benefit instead of paying to schools directly.
Source : EducationGhana.net