A lecturer at the University for Professional Studies, Accra, UPSA, Mohammed Tawfik Adamu, has called on the Ghanaian electorate never to trust John Mahama’s sudden U-turn on Free SHS, stating he has only changed his mind because of the December 7 elections.
Speaking on Dreamz FM in the Upper East Region, Mr. Tawfik stated that the presidential candidate of the opposition National Democratic Congress, John Dramani Mahama, has embraced the Free SHS program because their research indicated that the pro-poor policy is a game-changer in the upcoming elections. This, he said, forms the basis upon which Mahama has changed his mind on Free SHS.
“It is only the fool who changes his mind in the year of elections” Mr. Tawfik stated, in response to the host making the point that only a fool does not change his mind. Continuing, Mr. Tawfik said:
“It is true that it is only a fool who doesn’t change his mind, but I am telling you that it is only the fool who changes his mind when he is just about going into elections, and I am telling you, these are some of the political gimmicks. The reason why the NDC is doing a sudden U-turn is because they have seen how Free SHS is winning the heart and soul of many Ghanaians. They have seen that this election is about Free SHS, it is about having education, students having access to quality education. It is about helping the poor get access to quality education” he explained.
The lecturer at the Department of Information and Communications Studies at UPSA further urged Ghanaian parents not to fall for the tricks and gimmicks of the NDC and their presidential candidate since their intentions about Free SHS are not noble.
Mr. Wilson Dabuo, a lecturer at the University of Education, Winneba, also said that though the concept of Free Education has been existing in our books, no government before the Akufo-Addo one did anything about taking a bold decision to roll it out as the NPP administration has done.
‘Free SHS has been in the history books, in the constitution, pretentiously named as FCUB but never has it been implemented in the manner that the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia administration has done it” he held.
He used the occasion to urge parents and the beneficiaries of Free SHS to vote for Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and the New Patriotic Party’s parliamentary candidates so that the policy can be better protected. In his view, John Mahama and his NDC will collapse Free SHS if elected to office.
The two lecturers are members of the group named as University Lecturers for Free SHS, a group committed to sensitizing the electorate on the benefits of Free SHS and the need to keep the NPP in power to protect the program. Teams are in the Central, Upper East and Northern regions to undertake this exercise of sensitization.