The ranking member on the parliament's committee on education, Clement Apaak, has stated that the funds allocated to the National Cathedral project could have been better utilized to address infrastructure challenges within the education sector.

During an interview with TV3, Dr. Apaak emphasized that despite the paramount importance of the education sector, it has not received the necessary attention under the Akufo-Addo-led administration.

He criticized the government's failure to prioritize effectively.

Dr. Apaak pointed out that the significant investment in the National Cathedral, a project deemed non-urgent, could have instead been directed towards providing a conducive learning environment for school children across the nation.

“I think it’s an issue of prioritization, for example, look at the quantum of money stake in public resources invested towards the construction of the National Cathedral.

"If those monies were to be applied to procure furniture I believe we would have been talking about millions of pieces of furniture procured and distributed but Akufo-Addo and his government prioritised the construction of the Cathedral which has been described now as the most expensive on the surface of the earth," he added.

He noted the alarming statistic of over 5,000 schools operating under trees in Ghana.

The Builsa South lawmaker also criticized the persistence of this issue under the current administration, contrasting it with the efforts of the previous Mahama administration, which he claimed had made substantial progress in eradicating schools under trees.

Furthermore, Dr. Apaak highlighted the unacceptable reality of approximately 1 million pupils in Ghana having to sit on the floor to learn.

“What that means is that about one million of our wards go to school every day and they have to sit on the floor or sit on blocks to study. That clearly cannot be acceptable.”

He expressed confidence that his flagbearer, Former President John Dramani Mahama, would address furniture deficits in basic schools to tackle this issue effectively.

Do you know that a CEO and staff have been appointed for the Keta Port and have been receiving salaries since 2017, yet a single block has not been laid? - Dr Clement Apaak on challenges with the Free SHS policy.#HotIssues pic.twitter.com/4bskrmM4Xs— #TV3GH (@tv3_ghana) May 13, 2024