Deputy Minister for Education, Dr. Clement Abas Apaak, has called on the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to apologize to President John Dramani Mahama over their past assertions about the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy as per reports from Ghana Web on Friday, March 28, 2025.
During a parliamentary discussion on the 2025 budget, Dr. Apaak emphasized that the government has allocated GHS 3.5 billion to fund Free SHS, a significant increase compared to previous years.
He argued that this demonstrates Mahama’s dedication to improving the policy, contrary to the claims made by the NPP during the 2024 elections.
He reminded Parliament that before the elections, the NPP repeatedly accused Mahama and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) of planning to scrap the policy.
However, he pointed out that not only has the policy remained intact, but it has also received a higher budgetary allocation under Mahama’s leadership.
“Before the 2024 elections, our opponents insisted that John Dramani Mahama and the NDC were going to cancel Free SHS. Today, I ask them, has Free SHS been canceled?” Dr. Apaak questioned.
According to him, the current budgetary allocation surpasses the GHS 2.7 billion that the NPP government had committed at its peak. This, he argued, proves Mahama’s commitment to enhancing education in Ghana.
“For a man who was accused of plotting to cancel the policy to now be the one strengthening it, the NPP and its surrogates owe him an apology,” he asserted.
Dr. Apaak urged critics to acknowledge the strides made under the Mahama-led administration and accept that their earlier accusations were unfounded.