The Supreme Court will today rule on a suit filed by the Progressive People’s Party (PPP) to compel government to fully implement the 1992 constitution’s free compulsory universal basic education.<\/p>\n
[contextly_sidebar id=”2f7yyf2oNu4P3haa7RRZNItgXAzjJJB9″]Article 25(1)(a) of the 1992 constitution indicates that \u201cAll persons shall have the right to equal educational opportunities and facilities and with a view to achieving the full realization of that right-basic education shall be free, compulsory and available to all\u201d.<\/p>\n
Government has over the years introduced a number of interventions including the School Feeding Programme,\u00a0capitation grant, the distribution of free exercise books and lately the provision of free school uniforms to support this initiative but the PPP believes there are some sections of the policy which\u00a0\u00a0government and educational authorities in Ghana have overlooked.<\/p>\n
The party’s flagbearer, Paa Kwesi Nduom believes government’s failure to implement some sections of the policy partly contributed to Ghana being placed at the bottom<\/strong> <\/span><\/a>in the global school rankings.<\/p>\n The Organisation Economic Cooperation Development(OECD) in a report released on Wednesday \u00a0said “If Ghana, the lowest ranked country, achieved basic skills for all its 15-year-olds, \u00a0it would expand its current GDP by 38 times, over the lifetime of today’s youngsters.”<\/p>\n In a\u00a0post on Facebook, he explained that the party therefore needs to compel government to implement the policy because of the OECD’s \u00a0link between education and economic growth.<\/p>\n Ghana\u2019s position on global school rankings not by accident \u2013 NPP\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Meanwhile the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has indicated the global school rankings has vindicated its flagbearer<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, Nana Akufo-Addo\u2019s advocacy for a free Senior High School (SHS) education.<\/p>\n “This vindicates the message that our Presidential Candidate, Nana Akufo-Addo, has been consistently preaching since 2008 that \u2018no Ghanaian should be denied education to the secondary level\u2019 and that education must be free from kindergarten to Senior High School,\u201d said a statement from the party.<\/p>\n According to the party, Ghana\u2019s position was \u201cnot by accident because investment in education has slumped under President John Mahama and standards are feared to even fall further this year, with Government refusing to release funds for schools and Dumsor affecting studies”<\/p>\n –<\/p>\n By: Marian Efe Ansah\/citifmonline.com\/Ghana
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