NDC Member of Parliament Builsa South constituency and deputy ranking member on the Education Committee of Parliament, Clement Abass Apaak says former president John Mahama has been exonerated for his comments on the free Senior High School policy.

According to him, President Akufo-Addo's call for a broader consultation on the free Senior High School policy has been the talk of the former President.

The former president has on several occasions reiterated the need to review the free Senior High School (SHS) policy to safeguard quality.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says he is open to a national conversation on the government’s Free SHS programme.

He indicated that such a conversation should include funding, access, and sustainability.

Stakeholders in the educational sector have called for broader consultation on the Free SHS policy, which many say is fraught with a lot of challenges.

Speaking at a meeting with the leadership of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) at the Jubilee House, the President said though a number of people have had issues with the policy, it has come to stay.

“One of the things people are calling for is a review of free SHS. I think we should have a broader conversation about the incidence of education on our national development, and therefore also on our budgetary and public sector contributions to national education,” he said.

Speaking on Okay FM's 'Ade Akye Abia' programme, he explained that it is still never too late for the government to review the free Senior High School policy in the face of incessant challenges bedeviling the implementation.

"The policy could be improved with the introduction of bursary system that targets deprived families while bringing on board private Senior High Schools that had infrastructure to complement the policy.

The policy has been reeling under occasional pressure with the Conference of Assisted Secondary Schools either threatening to shutdown schools over lack of food or inadequate funds to run the policy.

He added that other professionals are in support of the review of the Free Senior High School policy including three former Vice Chancellors of public universities who are Professor Naana Opoku-Agyeman of the University of Cape Coast, Professor Ivan Addae-Mensah and Professor Ernest Aryeetey both of the University of Ghana.

"I think the President's call for a review is very much welcoming and that former president Mahama has been exonerated," he added.