Former President John Mahama has laughed off claims that a future NDC government will reverse the free Senior High School (SHS) policy initiated by the current government.

Some media houses had reported that President Mahama dropped hints of reversing the policy during last Saturday’s NDC unity walk at Tarkwa.

However, the former president, who is staging a comeback in 2020, issued a statement on his Facebook page Tuesday to clarify his comments.

“The false publication by a newspaper that the NDC will reverse free SHS is most laughable, false and diversionary,” Mr Mahama said.

According to him, Free SHS is constitutional, it must be implemented, but it must be implemented properly according to a clear plan that carries all stakeholders along.

Read full statement

NDC WILL NOT REVERSE FREE SHS

There are no “naysayers” when it comes to free SHS. After all it was recognized and enshrined in our constitution by the ordinary people of this nation who gathered at the Consultative Assembly and drew up the 1992 constitution.

Disagreement over the programme is about the optimal pace of implementation. A more carefully considered plan of implementation adopted by broad stakeholder consultation would have resulted in clear policies and guidelines, which would have avoided the current challenges plaguing the programme and putting our students in harms way.

This view is not mine only. Many in the NPP and non-partisan civil society hold the same opinion. It is not too late to hold a national stakeholders forum on the Free SHS Programme in order to carry the whole nation along. The current legacy-seeking and ad hoc manner of implementation will multiply the current implementational problems over the next 3 years.

The false publication by a newspaper that the NDC will reverse free SHS is most laughable, false and diversionary.

Free SHS is constitutional, it must be implemented, but it must be implemented properly according to a clear plan that carries all stakeholders along.