A staffer at the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Legal Directorate, Kingsley Amoakwa-Boadu, has stated that his party is not opposed to the proposal by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to scrap academic fees for all first-year tertiary students.
Amoakwa-Boadu emphasised that Ghana needs creative and imaginative minds to drive development, which requires formal education to thrive. He affirmed that the NPP would support any initiative aimed at increasing access to tertiary education.
However, speaking on The Big Issue on Channel One TV, Amoakwa-Boadu told Selorm Adonoo that the NPP’s concern with the proposal lies in how the NDC plans to implement the policy if it wins the December 7 polls.
“For myself and my party, anything that increases access to education is welcomed. For a long period of time, this country has needed educated minds because we have natural resources and all that and it is that creative and imaginative mind that boosts our developmental agenda [we want] and if you don’t have a lot of that, it is problematic and so anything that will increase access to education at the tertiary level where this discussion is concerned is welcomed.
“Our issue is how it is going to be implemented and financed. The NDC is not speaking from one script. You have someone say this and the other say that. You get someone say it is for all public universities and what about technical universities?”
NDC’s flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama during the party’s youth manifesto launch in Accra on Monday, August 12, promised to introduce the policy to support struggling students.
Clement Apaak, a member of the party’s Manifesto Committee on Education disclosed that the policy is likely to cost GH¢300m annually.
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