The flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Mahama, says the next NDC administration will prioritise tackling the challenges surrounding the implementation of the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy.

This commitment comes in light of widespread concerns regarding both the execution and financing of the policy.

In a recent meeting with the leadership of teacher unions, including the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers, Mr. Mahama outlined strategies aimed at strengthening the education sector.

Among these strategies, he emphasised the need to address the issues hindering the effective implementation of the Free SHS policy.

Mr. Mahama announced plans to hold a stakeholder forum on education within his first 100 days as president to gather input on how to enhance and provide quality education.

According to him, this forum will serve as a platform for various stakeholders to contribute ideas and solutions to the challenges facing the education sector.

Furthermore, he assured that all recommendations put forward by stakeholders in the education sector would be diligently implemented for the betterment of students.

This includes ensuring adequate funding, addressing infrastructure deficiencies, and improving the overall quality of education in the country.

“Within the first 100 days of my becoming president, we will hold a stakeholder dialogue on education. It will have as part of its focus the implementational bottlenecks of the Free SHS, but it is also going to deal with how we can improve financing and teaching and learning at the basic school level and so at that stakeholder's engagement, NAGRAT, GNAT, parents, students, educational experts, everybody is going to be there and we are going to have a discussion on access, on equity, on affordability, and on financing our educational system.”