Former President and presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Mahama, has accused the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) of double standards regarding the ongoing discourse on the review of the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy.

Addressing attendees at the launch of the Ghana National Association of Private Schools week, themed “2024 Elections: The Private Education Manifesto,” Mahama lambasted the government's handling of the Free SHS policy, alleging a lack of transparency and consistency in its communication.

Mahama pointed to a document submitted by the government to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which pledged to review and rationalize the Free SHS policy. He criticized the discrepancy between the government's promises to international bodies and its public narrative, accusing the NPP of hypocrisy.

“There’s hypocrisy in this thing about review. If you look at the IMF agreement that this government has signed, under point 47, page 76," Mahama stated. "This Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government signed an agreement with the IMF in January 2024. And they say that in the educational sector, we will review and rationalize the free SHS. These are their words, not my words.”

Mahama emphasized the need for clarity and honesty in the discourse surrounding the Free SHS policy, urging citizens to scrutinize government actions and statements. He highlighted concerns regarding the implementation and effectiveness of the policy, citing statistics indicating a significant number of students not taking up their places in Free SHS schools.

“The report says that between 2021 to date, over 196,000 children did not take up their place in the free SHS. Even though they were posted and qualified, they didn’t go. We need to find out why they didn’t go," Mahama explained. "The total amount of money the government has spent on free SHS comes to about ¢5.8 billion. The proportion of the parents is about 77% to the government’s share of about 23%. That is why we must do a review.”