Mahama Says Free SHS Food Not Fit For Even Dogs: Slams Akufo-Addo For Poor Quality of Meals Given Students

• John Mahama has criticised the government for the poor quality of meals served to free SHS students
• Speaking during a campaign tour of the Central Region on Wednesday, March 29, 2023, the most-likely to be the flagbearer of the opposition NDC said the food served to students is not even good for dogs owned by some government officials
• He said the poor quality food is a testament that the free SHS policy was not thorough and not well thought out

Former president John Mahama has called out the government for serving poor-quality meals to boarding students under the free Senior High School (SHS) programme.

Speaking during a campaign tour of the Asikuma Odoben Brakwa constituency in the Central Region, the man most likely to be the flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) said the poor-quality meal is just one of the testaments that the education policy was rushed through.

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He said because it was rushed, implementation has been poor.

"They [free SHS students] come home from school very lean. The students are too packed in their dormitories for lack of space and they come home with bedbugs if you don’t disinfect their items you’ll end up hosting lots of bedbugs in your home," he said on Wednesday, March 29, 2023, when he spoke on the campaign tour.

Free SHS cost Ghana over GH¢5 billion between 2017 and 2021

Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh reported in a separate story that the free SHS policy cost the state over GH¢5 billion between 2017 to 2021, although the budgetary allocation for the period has been GH¢7 billion.

The education minister Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum disclosed this on Wednesday, March 22, 2023, when he addressed Parliament.

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The revelation gives credence to concerns by some critics of the policy that Nana Akufo-Addo's flagship education programme is a major burden on Ghana's depleted coffers.

Government threatens to close down non-performing secondary and vocational schools

Also, education minister Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum threatened to close second-cycle institutions failing to live up to expectations.

He told heads of secondary and vocational schools in Kumasi on March 11 and 12 that they must roll out intervention programmes to improve their pass rates, especially if they are in the 0 to 10% region.

He said if a school is closed, affected students would be redistributed to nearby schools to continue.

Source: YEN.com.gh