Former president John Dramani Mahama believes government’s excessive investments in the Free Senior High School programme is compromising quality education.
According to him, the Akufo-Addo government is currently channeling all resources towards the Free SHS policy, to the detriment of basic and tertiary education.
Mahama was speaking at a lecture series organised by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) at the University of Cape Coast (UCC).
The lecture was focused on the state of education in Ghana and how to sustain it across all levels.
He said poorly planned policies by New Patriotic Party (NPP) government are gradually destroying the quality of education in the country.
“If you are spending all your money on secondary education, and less on tertiary and basic education, then there is something wrong with your educational system,” Mahama said.
He further lamented government’s decision to budget GHS2 billion for the Free SHS policy in this academic year.
Such a huge allocation, Mahama said, means other sectors of education have been completely neglected.
“If you have GHS 2 billion to spend on education, will you spend it on Free SHS?” the NDC flagbearer wondered.
“When they [NPP] started this Free SHS, anyone who gave a contrary suggestion was lambasted and called names.
"Not even people from their fold were spared. Now, see the mess they are creating in the educational sector,” he added.
Mahama has been a strong critic of the Free SHS, insisting the policy was not properly implemented.
The former president is on record to have said he will review the Free SHS policy should the NDC return to power in 2020.