Apaak challenges Bawumia's narrative on FSHS, backs Mahama's approach

Dr. Clement Apaak, Deputy Ranking Member on the Education Committee of Parliament and MP for Builsa South, has urged Ghanaians to dismiss Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia's assertions regarding the Free Senior High School (FSHS) policy.

Dr. Apaak emphasized that under John Mahama's presidency, the Free SHS policy would flourish with collaborative efforts to

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According to Dr. Apaak, instead of focusing on rectifying their failing campaign strategies, Bawumia's camp is persistently propagating the unfounded claim that Mahama intends to dismantle FSHS. The Builsa South MP dismissed this assertion as baseless, asserting that no reasonable Ghanaian would believe such allegations.

Dr. Apaak further highlighted the need for Vice President Bawumia to acknowledge that Mahama's call for a review of the FSHS program is valid, as evidenced by the government's own statements to the IMF.

He criticized Bawumia's contradictory stance, noting that while the government admitted to the IMF that FSHS would be reviewed and rationalized, they continue to deceive Ghanaians by equating "review" with "cancel."

In his statement, Dr. Apaak pointed out Vice President Bawumia's role in representing the government during the IMF review meeting, where the need for FSHS program adjustments was acknowledged. He questioned why Bawumia chose to disclose the truth to the IMF while perpetuating misinformation among Ghanaians.

Below is the statement from Dr. Clement Apaak:

STATEMENT: IGNORE THE STALE LIE – FSHS WILL THRIVE UNDER JDM

For the information of DMB and his camp, JDM held a very successful meeting with the leadership of CHASS on how to address the challenges affecting teaching and learning in our secondary schools on April 8th, 2024.

Why would JDM waste precious time by engaging the heads of our secondary schools to discuss how to resolve challenges bedevilling the implementation of the FSHS policy if he intends to cancel FSHS?

At the meeting, JDM listened to the long list of challenges narrated by the heads of our secondary schools and promised to work with them to address their raised concerns when he gets the nod. He restated his intention to convene a national stakeholders forum to deliberate on the FSHS Programme as a first step towards reviewing it to make it better.

JDM’s position on the decentralisation of the feeding arrangements in our secondary school system to ensure that feeding grants go directly to schools to procure food for students, was welcomed.

Equally, his promise to end the obnoxious double track system by completing uncompleted structures and adding new ones, to increase educational infrastructure also received commendation.

If DMB is honest and worth his salt, he should tell Ghanaians that the current government he is a part of told the IMF that the FSHS Programme will be reviewed and rationalised.

The duplicity of DMB is affirmed by the fact that he, the vice President, was captured in the said report, dated January 2024, as the highest government official who represented government during the review meeting with the IMF. Why was he comfortable telling the IMF the truth but continues deceiving Ghanaians, that review means cancel?

DMB should be bold enough to tell Ghanaians, that JDM was right in calling for a review of the FSHS Programme just as he represented government to admit to the IMF, as captured, on page 76 paragraph 47 of the first review of the IMF program.

Instead of DMB and his camp focusing on how to rescue their flopped campaign, they are busy pushing the stale and impotent lie, that JDM will collapse FSHS. No reasonable Ghanaian believes the nonsensical claim that JDM will cancel FSHS.

FSHS will thrive and blossom under JDM as President because he will work with stakeholders to fix the challenges.

Dr. Clement Apaak
MP, Builsa South and Deputy Ranking Member on the Education Committee of Parliament