The Director of the Outreach Africa Vocational Institute in Takoradi in the Western Region, Dan Owusu-Asiama has said that the current debate on the sustainability of the Free SHS Policy can be relegated to the annals of history if the NPP sets its priorities right.
He admitted that ensuring free education for all students is expensive but with prudent financial management and proper priority setting on the part of the government, the policy will thrive.
There is currently a debate on the financial sustainability of the Free Senior High School Policy.
Whilst some have argued that the policy should target the poor, others believe the policy implementation was rushed.
But, speaking at the graduation ceremony of 168 students from the Outreach Africa Free Vocational Institute [OAVI] at Whindo in the Effia Kwesimintsim Municipality in Takoradi, Mr. Asimah who has run free vocational school training for several hundreds of students for 10 years warned that the survival of the Free SHS policy rests on proper priority setting, the failure of which could see the policy collapse.
He opined that “education is expensive and therefore they [NPP] must set their priorities right when it comes to spending. There is no way anybody can convince me that it is morally right for a chairman of a ruling party to secure $11m to buy 275 mini buses for constituencies in the country of 30 million people with only 56 ambulances. We need to be serious as a people and be willing to help in areas where it matters the most.”
Bro. Asiamah has himself managed OAVI for 10 years offering free hands-on skills training to over 900 students since the school’s inception in February 2008.
Asked how he has managed to remain successful, he maintained it is through the effort of God and the prudent management of the school’s income streams.
–
By: Obrempong Yaw Ampofo/citinewsroom.com/Ghana