Nobody should think of making tertiary education free - Prof Adei

• Prof Adei warns politicians against promising free tertiary education

• He believes such a move will hinder development

• President Akufo-Addo in July hinted at plans to make tertiary education free

Ghanaian academician, Professor Stephen Adei, has warned policymakers against putting the cost of tertiary education on the government.

Speaking in

Read full articlean interview with Asaase Radio monitored by GhanaWeb, the economist noted that embarking on such a venture as a country will put a strain on government and prevent the government from undertaking other important developmental objectives.

"I think that the politicians have the tendency of promising things. Nobody should think about making tertiary education free. Because when we do that, you will find out that you can’t pay teachers because already money will be going in there. You can’t pay teachers, you can’t feed them, there will be no roads and other things,” he stated.

Speaking about education at the lower level, however, Prof Adei stated that education at the lower level in a modern world is a necessity for which he supports the idea of free education at such levels.

“When it comes to secondary school and below, when it comes to this modern world it is a necessary condition for anyone to participate in a modern society and for that I support the free education to that level,” he stated.

Prof Adei emphasized however that at the lower level, not every cost should be borne by the state adding that quality at that level should be a priority.

Meanwhile, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in July this year gave an indication of a likelihood of the replication of the free senior high school policy at the tertiary level.

“For now, what has been put in place is a system where students at the tertiary level are provided loans while in school to help them cater for their needs, but we’re considering free Tertiary education too,” the President said this at the Global Education Summit held in London on Thursday, July 29.

The opposition National Democratic Congress ahead of the 2020 presidential election announced it was going to absorb the school fees of students who were going to be admitted into tertiary institutions in the 2020/2021 academic year.

The party that failed to clinch victory in the election had also promised it will cater for 50% of fees for continuing tertiary students.