The opposition New Patriotic Party in the Ashanti Region has began the distribution of 4,000 sets of uni­forms to school children free of charge in fulfilment of the party's free uniform policy for school children in deprived areas.

Ashanti Region­al Chairman of the NPP, Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, aka Chairman Wontumi, who led the distribution team at market places and some primary schools  in the the Ejura-Sekyedumasi Municipality last Monday, said the party also gave out 5,000 pens in addition to the school uni­forms.

The figures could not be independently verified.

For Chairman Wontumi, said "this move is to ensure that poverty does not prevent any child from accessing at least basic educa­tion in the country," .

Education took center stage in the 2012 elections, with the NPP promising  Ghanaians free education for Senior High Schools. Ghana is experiencing an era of freebies in education. The NPP's President Kufuor began the School Feeding Programme in 2005 and free transportation for students using the Metro Mass Transit. The NDC has matched this with the free distribution of one million school uniforms to basic school pupils under the late President Mills in 2009.

With 18 months in the John Mahama's four-year term, the NPP is accusing the governing  National Demo­cratic Congress (NDC)  of failing  to fulfill the promise made to the elec­torate during the 2012 electioneering campaign.

Despite being in opposition, Chairman Wontumi  indicated that the NPP would continue with the social intervention project into 2016 and beyond; by which time he was hopeful that the party might have recaptured power to execute more of such programmes for the poor.

According to him, academic per­formance of some pupils had been affected by their parents' inability to acquire school uniforms and pens for them, adding that the social interven­tion programme would lead to the distribution of three million sets of uniforms for school children.

Bernard Antwi-Boasiako was accompanied by the Member of Par­liament for the area, Mohammed Salifu and NPP Programmes Manager of Free School Uniforms, Andy Owusu.