The Executive Director of the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), Mary Addah, has questioned the timing of the introduction of the proposed bill on the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy.
The bill comes amid concerns about the programme’s potential cancellation by future administrations and the various challenges it currently faces.
Commenting on the development, the GII boss expressed her disagreement with the notion of a new government scrapping an existing policy merely because a previous administration initiated it.
She further questioned why a legal framework was not established from the beginning if it was deemed necessary.
“I am surprised that we are having this discussion…. If you look at what we did, it is premised on the constitution, and so it is interesting that we are now thinking about the law and why now. Just close to an election.
“If we wanted the law, why didn’t we, from the formulation stage, ensure that we have the law before we talk about policy and implementation?” she questioned on Joy News.
The Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, announced at a press briefing ahead of Parliament’s resumption from break on Tuesday, June 11, 2024, that a finalised bill was ready for presentation by the Education Minister, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum.
According to him, the move is to prevent any government from attempting to abort the policy.
Meanwhile, Deputy Ranking Member of Parliament’s Education Committee, Dr Clement Apaak, has disclosed that the Minority in Parliament will support the Free Senior High School (SHS) Bill when introduced in Parliament.
According to Dr Apaak, backing the bill will end speculation that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) intends to cancel the policy if it comes into power.
“We will support the bill and get it passed into law if that is what is going to give assurance to every Ghanaian that NDC has no intention today, tomorrow or in the future to cancel the policy,” he said on TV3.