The NDC Member of Parliament for Akatsi North Constituency and a former Assistant Director at the Ghana Education Service has revealed the reasons why the Akufo-Addo government has had to poorly manage the educational sector.
According to the MP, who is the Ranking Member on Education in Parliament, the deliberate refusal by the government to pay off debt owed contractors to complete GETFUND projects in the various Senior High Schools has led to inadequate facilities in the schools.
The Ranking Member revealed that, despite Parliament's approval of 1.5 billion dollar facility loan in 2018 for these projects, the Akufo-Addo government has over the years failed to disburse monies to these contractors to complete those projects creating artificial infrastructure shortages to ostensibly justify the double track system in our educational sector.
This, according to the former Assistant Director of Ghana Education Service, has over the years, created a phenomenon where students are unable to complete a full topic in core subjects let alone being introduced to their elective subjects in their first years.
Kindly read his full statement issued out
Under the current circumstances, our children pack heavy luggage to school only to be asked to return home with same in less than five weeks time.
This phenomenon attached to the 'double track' system is a clear indication of how poorly the mass Free SHS policy has been enrolled by managers of the country.
It goes further to highlight the endemic infrastructure challenge facing schools across the country, a condition worsened by the refusal of the Nana led administration to pay contractors who were undertaking several school projects prior to their coming into office.
Despite the 1.5 billion dollars loan facility approved by Parliament in 2018 for the payment of contractors owed by GETFUND towards the provision of new facilities for Senior High schools in the country, government has failed to disburse the monies owed contractors from the years before 2017 as well as contractors on the 1,119 projects from 2017.
Any further commitment from government could have resolved the issue of inadequate accommodation/classroom facilities in our schools.
It is sad to also note that, within this 'traffic light' period of stay in school, most of the schools are unable to complete a full topic in core mathematics and in some cases, the first years have not even had an introduction to their elective subjects. We cannot build this country like this.
This is not what Ghanaians negotiated for; the Free SHS policy is a good one but government needs further stakeholder engagement so as not to compromise on quality.
#FixTheCountry
#FixTheEconomy
#FixTheEducationalSector
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