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Former Chief of Defence Staff, Brigadier General Joseph Nunoo-Mensah (Rtd), has questioned President John Dramani Mahama's proposal to implement free tuition for first-year public tertiary students.
It will be recalled that, in the lead-up to the 2024 general election, Mr Mahama announced the "no fee stress policy," which aims to waive tuition fees for first-year students in public tertiary institutions.
The policy intends to provide grants to universities to cover the costs, alleviating the financial burden on students transitioning from senior high school.
However, Brigadier General Nunoo-Mensah (Rtd) raised reservations about the necessity of the initiative, suggesting that parents should shoulder the responsibility for their children’s tertiary education.
Speaking at a stakeholder engagement at O’Reilly Senior High School in Accra on 15 January, he stated:
“Why pay for them? What is the essence of tertiary education? What is the use? You don’t have to pay for it. Come on, it’s not necessary.
He emphasised:
If someone wants to go to tertiary education, the parents should afford it because you don’t need them anyway. I don’t need them. They finish, then they will be roaming about in Accra finding jobs. They can’t even produce solar energy to power lights for us. They can’t do anything, so don’t waste our money on them.
He also expressed his intention to advise President Mahama directly, adding:
I’m going to tell President John Dramani Mahama, it’s not necessary. But they won’t listen to me because they are politicians; I’m not.
The retired brigadier general also criticised the implementation of the Free Senior High School (SHS) programme:
It’s a wrong policy. They should have encouraged parents to pay. Those who cannot pay should have applied for scholarships.
Meanwhile, President Mahama has committed to implementing the "No Academic Fee Policy" for all first-year students in public tertiary institutions within the first 120 days of his administration.