NDC pledges free Level 100 fees, extends Free SHS to include private schools.

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has announced significant educational pledges as part of their campaign, including the elimination of academic fees for all first-year university students and the extension of the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy to private schools.

These promises were revealed by Festus Mwingsong Akyuuro, a Public Relations consultant and a member of the NDC Youth Manifesto team, during the party's campaign launch at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA).

Akyuuro highlighted the necessity for improved funding in the country's secondary education system.

“Promises to improve secondary education have been touted as the greatest achievement, but there’s no funding. You cannot claim this as your crowning accomplishment without proper financing, and the construction of the E-blocks must be completed,” he stated.

Former President John Mahama, who is spearheading the NDC campaign, has also committed to overhauling Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) by integrating it with modern facilities such as fabrication laboratories equipped with 3D printers and other state-of-the-art technology.

According to Akyuuro, Mahama’s educational commitments include extending the Free SHS programme to cover private senior high schools.

“We have students who cannot attend public basic schools, yet we have empty private senior high schools. If we can educate them at the same cost as in public schools, let’s move them there and pay the same amount,” he proposed.

In what has been dubbed the “No Fees Stress” initiative, the NDC is also promising that all university entrants into their first year will not pay academic fees.

“No academic fees for first-year students. We’ve heard countless stories of students who finished school with 7As, and we had to start crowdfunding for them. All of that will be a thing of the past under the next NDC administration,” Akyuuro added.

The NDC also intends to revitalise the student loan scheme under the Student Loan Trust Plus, which will support students who cannot afford their fees after their first year, ensuring they can benefit from the programme.

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