The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Minority in parliament has dismissed claims suggesting they are opposed to the government's proposed Free Senior High School (SHS) bill.

On June 11, the Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, announced that the bill, when passed into law, would make the implementation of the Free SHS policy binding on successive governments.

According to him, the move is to prevent any government from attempting to abort the policy. Some groups and individuals have already criticised the move as needless.

In a post on X on Wednesday, the Minority Leader Dr Cassiel Ato Forson stated that the claims about NDC MPs being against the proposed Free SHS bill are untrue.

Read also: Parliament to introduce Free SHS bill to make it binding on successive governments

He clarified that currently, there is no such bill before Parliament, and therefore, his outfit cannot oppose a bill they have not seen.

“For the records, it was the NDC that birthed the 1992 Constitution which provided the legal framework for the introduction of Free Secondary Education in Ghana. 

The claim that NDC MPs are against a proposed Free SHS Bill is totally false.

There is currently no such bill before Parliament. We cannot oppose a bill that we have not seen.

For the records, it was the NDC that birthed the 1992 Constitution which provided the legal framework…

— Cassiel Ato Forson(PhD) (@Cassielforson) June 12, 2024

“Also, it was the NDC that commenced the implementation of the Free SHS programme in the year 2015 for all day students in public senior high schools, totaling over 320,000, with a clear plan to expand coverage to include 120,000 boarding students by 2017,“ he said.

The flagbearer of the opposition NDC, John Mahama, has announced a review of the Free SHS policy within the first 100 days of taking office if elected president in the 2024 general elections.

“Within the first 100 days in government, we will convene a stakeholder summit that brings together educationists, experts, teachers, parents, students, and opinion leaders to deliberate on how to improve the implementation of the Free SHS system and also improve the quality of our basic education,” Mr. Mahama stated.

Read also: Within the first 100 days in office, we’ll review Free SHS – Mahama

He accused the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) of double standards in the ongoing discourse surrounding the review of the Free SHS policy.

Despite consistent calls for a review of the Free SHS programme introduced in 2017, the NPP government has steadfastly rejected such propositions.

Read also: Mahama criticises NPP’s hypocrisy in Free SHS policy review

According to the NPP government, the policy needs improvement, not a review. However, Mr Mahama criticised the NPP administration for its contradictory stance, highlighting the government's pledge to review and rationalise the policy in a document submitted to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) while presenting a conflicting narrative to the Ghanaian public.

On the back of this, the Minority Leader said the position of the NDC has always been to improve the implementation of the programme.

“The position of the NDC on the Free SHS programme as publicly communicated by our flagbearer and leader is to improve the implementation of the programme and address the challenges bedeviling it through a consultative approach."

On his part, the Deputy Ranking Member on the Education Committee of Parliament, Dr Clement Apak reiterated that the NDC Minority is not opposed to the Free SHS bill.

“As John Dramani Mahama noted during his meeting with the national leadership of CHASS on May 8th, 2024, he will work with them and all stakeholders to make FSHS better. 

“Our Flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama, has indicated time without number that, the FSHS policy is a good policy bedevilled with implementation challenges: inadequate academic and residential infrastructure; inadequate and poor quality food; inadequate furniture; erratic academic calendar, among others. John Dramani Mahama has pledged to address these challenges to make FSHS better,” he said on Wednesday, June 12.

He clarified that while the NDC Minority waits to see the proposed bill in Parliament and examine its contents in detail, they have no challenge supporting a bill seeking to ensure its future. 

“Thus, the NDC will support any legislation or effort aimed at making the Free SHS programme better and sustainable,” he added.