We support review of free SHS – Teacher Unions Back Mahama

The Pre-Tertiary Education Sector Unions in a Policy Dialogue with former President John Dramani Mahama, who is also, the 2024 Presidential Candidate for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), have pledged support for the position of Mr Mahama to review and improve upon the free SHS/TVET policy when assumed office as President.
The free SHS/TVET policy review is among other pressing demands that the Pre-Tertiary Education Sector Unions are demanding that the former President factored them into the NDC Manifestos so that, they can hold him accountable when failed to act on them.

In his Response to their demand Mr. Mahama said, the Free SHS/TVET Policy is no longer debatable because, it is a must and therefore, it would be addressed through stakeholder engagement together with the other challenges as they strengthen its positives. “It is thus not surprising that you have incorporated it into the teachers’ manifesto”.
He lamented that, the free SHS Secretariat being supervised by the Education Directorate is the NDC considered view. “The Education Service, which is an implementing agency, has the capacity to implement the policy. The NDC will, therefore, integrate the Secretariat into the education service directorate and not have them as separate entities”.

Mr. Mahama explained that, the demands presented reflect the work already done by the Education Committee of the party which, also called for the need to improve quality teaching and learning, and existing infrastructure.
“Many of the concerns you raised in the document are germane and relevant, and achievable in collaboration with you. Others, I believe, need further engagements, given the limited fiscal resources available due to the mismanagement of the economy by the current NPP government”.

On the issue of First Language (LI) as a medium of instruction from KG to Basic 3, Mr. Mahama said, it sits well with NDC policies. “This was specially so under Prof. Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang as then Minister of Education. The policy will be considered alongside the training of more teachers in the major Ghanaian languages to make the implementation effective”.

The NDC he hinted, agrees with The Pre-Tertiary Education Sector Unions on the need to establish libraries in the basic schools to inculcate the culture of reading in the pupils. “This is necessary not only for knowledge, but also for pleasure, which is gradually diminishing in the basic schools”.

The need to ensure the provision of relevant textbooks, workbooks, and teaching and learning materials (TLMs) the NDC Presidential Candidate mentioned, were vigorously pursued under his administration under the Ministry of Education where, distribution of school uniforms was done alongside textbook distribution. “Presently, the distribution of textbooks is a critical issue at the basic school level, and I am not surprised you have raised the issue”.
The NDC he stated, would ensure the timely disbursement of capitation grants to the schools and the education directorates to ensure effective management of the schools saying, financing of basic schools, should be need-based and resource-based.

The provision of free sanitary pads for female learners in both basic and senior high schools he averred, was initiated under the erstwhile NDC government but the current government mocked on the initiative but for the unions to raise the issue again is a clear indication that, the policy on sanitary pads was well thought through and needs to be reintroduced.

The NDC policy of infrastructure development according to Mr. John Mahama, would again be pursued vigorously to decongest the large class sizes adding that, abandoned infrastructure in the basic and senior high and TVET schools, including the E-blocks, would receive priority attention under my administration.