...now promises to build 350 SHS

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) appears to be running away from its “whimsical” Free Senior High School (SHS) promise and going for the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) manifesto promise of progressively making SHS education free through the construction of some two hundred and fifty new SHS across the country.

Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the NPP running-mate, who has been tactically camped in the three northern regions to campaign, is now telling the electorate there that his party plans to address the infrastructural deficit in the country’s educational sector by building 350 new senior high schools across the country.

This fresh promise is seen as an apparent response to the President John Mahama’s 2012 manifesto pledge of building new senior high schools throughout the country; something the NPP has not captured in its 2012 elections manifesto.

The NPP party has come under heavy criticism over its free SHS policy, especially from the NDC who say the few senior high schools available cannot accommodate the thousands of junior high schools students expected to enter the SHS.

They also argue the policy will compromise quality education if nothing is done about increasing accessibility and teaching manpower to drive the programme.

But addressing supporters of the NPP in Kperisi in the Wa central Constituency of the Upper West Region, the party’s presidential running mate Dr. Bawumia promised that adequate infrastructure would be put in place to address the challenge.

“Under Nana Akufo-Addo we are going to build 350 new senior high schools in Ghana, and so we will create the access and we will improve the quality.

The argument that you cannot do it is the same argument they used, when we were bringing in the National Health Insurance Scheme...we will bring about the free secondary school education for all our children,” said Bawumia.

Dr. Bawumia also indicated that agriculture in the Northern and the two Upper regions would receive a major boost under the NPP to make the region the food basket of West Africa.

The NPP, until recently did not make the issue of quality and teachers’ welfare, part of the Free SHS promise.