The Minority in Parliament has expressed concern about the exclusion of private Senior High Schools (SHS) from the Free SHS programme, urging President John Dramani Mahama and Finance Minister-designate Cassiel Ato Forson to keep their campaign promise of including private schools.
During his vetting on Monday, January 13, Tano North Member of Parliament Dr. Gideon Boako criticized the Minister-designate’s contemptuous demeanor in a press conference on the subject.
Dr. Boako claims that when asked about the National Democratic Congress’s (NDC) manifesto’s proposal to expand the Free SHS program to private institutions, Dr. Ato Forson came across as evasive.
“When asked whether the programme would be extended to private schools, the Minister-designate, in a very dismissive manner, asked whether those private schools write WASSCE exams,” Dr Boako recounted, adding that this response feigned ignorance of the fact that many private SHS participate in the WASSCE.
Additionally, Dr. Boako reminded President Mahama and the Minister-designate of their campaign meetings with the private SHS leadership.
“If President Mahama and the NDC knew that no private SHS writes WASSCE exams, why did they promise to include them in the Free SHS programme?” he questioned, highlighting the growing impatience among private schools awaiting inclusion.
Dr Boako posed critical questions to the Finance Minister-designate and the NDC government: “What is the Finance Minister-designate waiting for? Was this not their campaign promise? What informed the promises? Didn’t they do the numbers first?”
