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FLASHBACK: I'll build 350 SHS in my first 18 months - Nana Addo

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo prior to the previous general elections promised to <a href="https://www.pulse.com.gh/news/local/flashback-cedi-depreciation-worse-under-mahama-bawumia/4frg548" id="7699dd39-6b0e-41d2-b717-da8acb01a7a0">build 350 Senior High Schools</a> (SHS) in his first 18 months in government.
Nana Addo
Nana Addo

The construction of 200 day SHS was a major component of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC's) campaign message in the 2012 polls.

The schools is to address the infrastructure deficit in the country's educational sector.

The NPP criticised former president John Mahama for failing to deliver on that promise.

Each school building by the NPP is expected to cost GH¢3.5 million.

In December 2018, the General Secretary of the NPP, John Boadu said the NPP government is still committed to constructing 350 SHS.

He rebutted claims that the party has reneged on its promise after winning power stating that though the timeline may have elapsed it is still committed to build the schools.

He stated that "The kind of investments we are injecting in education is not the E-Blocks. We will complete the all the uncompleted ones very fast. We will construct the 350 new school blocks. What matters is for us to construct these schools. Sometimes it is not just about doing it but you do it properly. Through Getfund we have taken cash for this purpose. We are just not interested in constructing buildings."

The former Communications Director of the NPP, Nana Akomea prior to the 2016 elections said the party will build 350 day SHS from 2017 if it wins power.

"This whole idea of John Mahama saying I will build 200 schools was in reaction to Nana Addo's plan to build 350-day schools as part of the free SHS agenda. So John Mahama also brought this thing that I am also going to build schools, it wasn’t part of their initial plan," he said.

Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia also promised that the NPP plans to build 350 SHS.

Addressing supporters of the NPP in Kperisi in the Wa Central constituency of the Upper West region, Bawumia said adequate infrastructure will be put in place to address the challenge.

"Under Nana Akufo-Addo we are going to build 350 new senior secondary schools in Ghana, and so we will create the access and we will improve the quality. The argument that you cannot do it is the same argument they used, then we were bringing in the National Health Insurance Scheme...we will bring about the free secondary school education for all our children," he added.

It's been over 2 years since NPP took the reigns of government and not even a single SHS has been built.

Watch the video of what Nana Addo said on his campaign trail.

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