A member of the Communications Team of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Roger TD Wills, has argued that the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) policy was not introduced by the New Patriotic Party (NPP), but rather expanded under the Akufo-Addo administration.

In a 3news.com report on January 14, 2026, Wills explained that the Free SHS policy dates back to Ghana’s first president, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, who initiated free secondary education in parts of northern Ghana.

According to him, President John Dramani Mahama further reinforced the policy during his first term in office by extending it to cover day students across the country.

He noted that while the Akufo-Addo-led NPP government broadened the scope of the policy to cover more beneficiaries, that expansion should not be mistaken for the introduction of the programme.

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“Free SHS was a constitutional mandate, not an NPP initiative. It was started by Dr Kwame Nkrumah and reinforced by President John Dramani Mahama, who extended it to day schools,” Wills stated.

He stressed that the NPP’s role was limited to widening the implementation of an already existing policy.

“The fact that the NPP broadened and widened the scope does not mean they introduced Free SHS. It is a constitutionally enshrined policy,” he argued.

MRA/AE

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