The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has asserted that the widely lauded Free Senior High School (SHS) policy, often associated with the New Patriotic Party (NPP), was originally their initiative.
Dr. Clement Apaak, a key member of the NDC Manifesto Committee on Education, made this claim during the third edition of Adom TV’s Badwam Sectorial Debate at the Accra Digital Center.
Dr. Apaak explained that the foundation of the Free SHS policy lies within Ghana’s Constitution, and the NDC began its implementation through the Progressive Senior High School policy in 2015.
This policy, according to Dr. Apaak, was targeted at 458,700 students who were identified as poor and vulnerable. “If the NDC had remained in power, we would have expanded this initiative to benefit even more students across the country,” he said.
Beyond the Free SHS debate, Dr. Apaak provided a detailed account of the NDC’s contributions to Ghana’s education sector during their tenure.
He pointed out that the NDC initiated the construction of 123 E-blocks to improve secondary education infrastructure, completing 76 of these and commissioning 46 before leaving office. Additionally, the NDC launched a $156 million Secondary Education Improvement Project (SEIP) to further enhance the sector, funding the construction of 23 E-blocks, improving facilities in 175 SHSs, and providing scholarships to 10,400 needy students.
In the realm of tertiary education, Dr. Apaak emphasized the NDC’s role in establishing two new universities: the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) and the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR).
He also highlighted the NDC’s efforts in securing funding for the University of Environment and Sustainable Development (UESD).
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The NDC also played a crucial role in converting polytechnics into technical universities and upgrading Colleges of Education into tertiary institutions, which Dr. Apaak noted led to a significant increase in student enrollment.
Dr. Apaak also highlighted the NDC’s impact on basic education, noting that the party distributed over 100 million free exercise books, 12.5 million textbooks in core subjects, and 2 million school uniforms. The NDC also provided 10,000 locally made sandals to pupils in deprived districts, constructed over 1,100 classroom blocks, and eliminated the shift system in public basic schools.
The NDC’s comprehensive approach to education, as presented by Dr. Apaak, paints a picture of a party deeply committed to enhancing the educational landscape in Ghana.
As the debate over the origins of the Free SHS policy continues, the NDC’s narrative challenges the perception that the policy was solely an NPP initiative, instead framing it as part of a broader, constitutionally mandated effort that they began and would have expanded had they remained in power.
