The National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS), is demanding an apology from government for failing to deliver on its promise of building 200 new community day Senior High Schools by end of 2016.

The union, in a statement said government has deceived students by not completing half of the schools as suggested in previous budget statements, and state of the nation addresses by the finance minister, Seth Tekper and President Mahama respectively.

“If the government is being honest to the people of Ghana and for that matter the Students of this great nation, then by now, almost 22 months after that part of the [2014] budget was read, indicating that all the three phases of the construction has different and separate funding, fifty (50) that was at various stages of completion as at November 2014, should have been completed by now, the additional 23 that were funded by the World Bank as at November 2014 should have been completed by now as well, the 2015 budget also made provision for the construction of another 50, this batch too should have been completed, because they were all fully funded.”

The students’ body said “even if we have to compromise with the government that there have been short falls in the budget in a perceived “well-to do” economy that has led to the inability to complete the 100 government funded project, what about the 23 that were not funded by the Ghanaian government?”

The President at the commissioning of the Abodoman Community SHS earlier this month, said 123 of the planned 200 community day senior high schools, were at various stages of completion, and will be completed in his second term of office if his government is retained in power in the upcoming general elections. But the statement signed by Paul Gyan, the coordinating secretary of NUGS said that is not what Ghanaians signed up for. He said the Union is therefore demanding an apology from government for deceiving them.

The statement added that “government must realize that the nation cannot develop when issues of education are played with like a doll.”

source:citifmonline