Commenting on what he said was the probable victory of the New Patriotic
Party's presidential candidate, Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo, in the
December 7th election, and its implication for the future of
second-cycle education in Ghana, a young university student
acquaintance of mine made a rather interesting comment.
He observed that in no other country in the world but Ghana, would an
idea from a hired foreign political strategist be adopted by those who
hired his services; become their party's main campaign message, without
it ever undergoing any in-depth scrutiny by either the media or civil
society groups: even when their party is supposedly poised to win power.
In his view, it was extraordinary that a political party "led mainly by
wealthy elitist-politicians, many from privileged backgrounds - and some
of whom can either easily afford, or have already provided their wards
with, an expensive overseas education - could be heading for victory in
both the presidential and parliamentary elections, without once facing
any serious questioning about the practicality (from a state-funding
perspective) of its main campaign policy proposal to provide free
secondary education, now."
Yet, we are all aware, dear reader, that over the years various Ghanaian
Governments have, at certain points in time, not been able to provide
funds in timely fashion, to keep the machinery of government functioning
effectively.
There are many employees of ministries, departments and agencies of the
Ghanaian nation-state, for example, whose salaries have remained unpaid
on occasion - sometimes for months on end: simply because projected
revenue outlined in the budget for a particular year, has not
materialised.
(Is that perpetual lack of funding not the reason why the Tema Oil
Refinery and so many state-owned business entities - such as the public
utilities providing electricity and water - are basket-cases
financially, I ask, dear reader? And was that not the driving force for
the law-defying fire-sale of Ghana Telecom to Vodafone? But I digress.)
Then there are the unavoidable facts on the ground: Secondary schools
need to feed their boarding students daily. They also need to pay for
water and electricity, as well as pay for other goods and services
needed to keep them functioning during the school term.
One shudders to think of the disruption that secondary schools suddenly
facing a loss of the relatively reliable source of funds that fees paid
by parents represents, will experience, when expected funds from central
government fail to materialise at the right time.
Some might even be forced by circumstances to close down temporarily, in
such situations - with the attendant disruption to the academic
calender that that would entail.
It is unfortunate that those questioning the feasibility of a free
secondary education policy being implemented without it destroying
secondary education in Ghana, at this stage in our nation's development,
have somehow been made out to be retrogrades against a "pro-poor
policy" (to quote a patronising female serial-caller to radio phone-in
programmes, who prospered mightily from her political connections, once
upon a time, when the New Patriotic Party was in power).
Yet, some of us have insisted for decades, that a poor developing nation
with aspirations, cannot afford not to provide free education from
kindergarten to tertiary level, for its citizens.
And that was long before many of the "Latter-day-converts now trumpeting
it took it up for opportunistic reasons - because a clever
hired-foreigner, discovered that it was a sure-fire vote-winner with the
gullible", to quote my young university student acquaintance.
The tragedy for Mother Ghana, is that many of those championing it
today, do so not because they actually care about the well-being and
future of our nation's younger generation, but simply because it will
enable them win political power again. And damn the consequences, for
all they care.
Otherwise why have they not thought of some of the most practical means
of enabling poor Ghanaian families to educate their offspring, who have
the aptitude to study, as alternatives that will not endanger the
secondary educational system: a well-endowed scholarship fund, for
example - replenished regularly from an agreed proportion of value-added
tax on goods and services - that those with given aggregates will be
awarded full scholarships from, and all other students can compete to be
awarded funding from, year-round, in written national examinations for
that purpose?
As things currently stand, it is difficult not to concur with those who
accuse the New Patriotic Party of cynically exploiting the desperation
felt by many financially-challenged families, who regularly need to find
money to pay for the education of their offspring, in order to win
their votes.
Many such individuals also insist that the New Patriotic Party knows
perfectly well that as things currently stand, it will be next to
impossible to implement a free secondary education policy proposal in
Ghana, within a 4-year tenure, without destroying secondary education as
we know it - and possibly dislocating our national economy into the
bargain too.
Ordinary people in Ghana need to be fully informed about the total cost
of implementing a free secondary education policy proposal over a future
government's 4-year tenure - and the source of those funds: with
sustainability being the operative word there, for every single
government-funded secondary school in Ghana.
There are many independent-minded patriots in Ghana, who feel that the
New Patriotic Party does not deserve to win power if it fails to be
transparent and sincere in this particular matter.
There are also many of those selfsame independent-minded and patriotic
Ghanaians - whose crucial swing-votes now decide who wins presidential
elections in Ghana - who still remember that Nana Addo Danquah
Akuffo-Addo told the world, when asked how much the free secondary
education policy would cost, in a BBC Hardtalk interview not too long
ago, that he would rather it was the Ghanaian people, who were the first
to be told exactly what the NPP's free secondary school policy proposal
would cost to be implemented.
Surely, he must honour that promise now - before the good people of
Ghana cast their votes on the 7th of December, to elect a new President
of the Republic of Ghana?
Let him outline, in a detailed breakdown of the total cost, what each
public secondary school in Ghana will receive in the 4 years he will be
president, if elected on 7th December 2012.
Nothing short of that will do - and his party must stop mentioning
President Nkrumah's name in connection with this matter. With respect,
none of them possesses Nkrumah's nation-building genius - and in any
case Kwame Nkrumah's equal has not yet been born.
Simply put, dear reader, the time has now come for Nana Addo Danquah
Akufo-Addo to honour his BBC Hardtalk interview promise - to tell
Ghanaians the cost of implementing his "free secondary education, now"
policy proposal. A word to the wise...
Tel: 027 745 3109.
Email: peakofi.thompson@gmail.com.
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