The Minority Caucus has clarified its position on the Free Senior High School (SHS) bill, stating that it is not opposed to the idea. Instead, they urge the government to address existing educational difficulties.
This comes after Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin accused the Minority caucus of obstructing the proposed Free SHS bill. The law intends to regulate the Free SHS intervention by requiring future administrations to continue the policy.
Afenyo-Markin revealed that the bill had gained executive approval and would be presented to the House by Education Minister Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum.
Speaking to journalists in Parliament on Tuesday, Afenyo-Markin requested that the Minority justify their objection to the bill.
However, in an interview with Umaru Sanda Amadu on Eyewitness News on Citi FM, Dr. Clement Apaak, Deputy Ranking Member on Parliament’s Education Committee, stated that, while the bill had not yet been presented before the house, the Minority had committed their support for it.
Dr. Apaak emphasized that the majority and the government should focus on addressing educational difficulties rather than deceiving and misleading Ghanaians.
“We in the NDC have never been opposed to the Free SHS policy…So I fail to understand why the NPP and now the Majority Leader are trying to revive the stale, dead and rejected propaganda message used against the NDC that we are opposed to the policy and that should Ghanaians give us the opportunity, we will cancel the policy.
“We have not said that anywhere, any day or anytime. The majority leader was the person who informed Ghanaians through the parliamentary press corps on the 11th of June 2024 that the government was going to bring to parliament a policy on the Free SHS policy with the intention of ensuring that future governments abide by the policy and implement it accordingly.”
“We are yet to even see the bill to examine its content. So for the majority leader to try and suggest that because our ranking member made a statement to the effect that it wasn’t necessary to have the bill that then translates to our side rejecting the bill is unfounded, totally unfounded in fact it is a blatant lie.”
