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Claim: A trending video on TikTok indicates that the current president of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo Dankwa, finally cancelled free SHS during the government transition.
Verdict: False. DUBAWA findings reveal that the government has not cancelled the educational policy, despite losing the Dec. 7 elections.
Full Text
A TikTok user, adepastar, claims in a video that Ghana’s current president, Nana Akufo-Addo, has cancelled the Free Senior High School policy.
The video generated discussions and comments about the policy issue of the NPP government.
“The most wicked president Ghana has ever had in our history should be this man, and I regret voting for him in 2020. May God forgive me, and thanks for showing me the light, never NPP again,” a follower commented.
“I learnt he uses some of the taxes for free SHS, so since he cancelled betting, e-levy and Covid, NDC can bring it back,” another user commented.
As of Dec. 20, 2024, the video had garnered over 28k likes with 929 comments.
DUBAWA decided to investigate the authenticity of this video, as several commenters suggested it had been manipulated.
Verification
Ghana’s Free Senior High School (SHS) policy has a fascinating history. It all began with a promise made by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in their 2008 manifesto to extend guaranteed access to free quality education at the basic school level to cover second-cycle education. However, it wasn’t until 2017 that President Nana Akufo-Addo officially introduced the policy. The policy implementation commenced in September 2017, with 353,053 first-year students benefiting from the program.
The policy aimed to provide free tuition, admission fees, textbooks, library fees, science centre fees, ICT fees, examination fees, and even boarding and meals for students in public senior high schools. The government absorbed all approved fees for these students.
Interestingly, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) promised to implement a progressive free secondary education system in 2014, but the NPP ultimately implemented the policy. The Free SHS policy has significantly impacted education in Ghana, increasing enrollment rates and providing opportunities for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. However, there have also been challenges, including concerns about the quality of education and the program’s sustainability.
DUBAWA conducted a keyword search to find any publication by any credible media outlet suggesting the policy has been cancelled. However, as of Dec. 23, 2024, no credible media organisation had published on the policy’s cancellation. Also, the Ghana Education Service had not officially announced that the policy had been cancelled.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) stated in their manifestos that they would continue free SHS. The National Democratic Congress stated this on page 92 of its manifesto, and the NPP also said that they would continue with it on page 28 of their manifesto.
Also, during NPP’s last election campaign at the University of Ghana sports park on 5th December 2024, President Akufo-Addo emphasised his commitment to maintaining the Free SHS policy. He cautioned that electing the opposition could jeopardise the programme, stating, “If you make the mistake of giving the NDC power, the free SHS will be cancelled.”
Currently, before Parliament is a Free SHS bill that was tabled before the house for consideration. Even though there has been some objection to the bill in its current form, there is nothing to show that the policy as it is being implemented has been cancelled.
On the contrary, President-elect John Dramani Mahama has reassured Ghanaians that the Free SHS policy will continue under his administration. He stated, “Nobody is going to scrap Free SHS… We are going to maintain it. What we are going to do is get dedicated funding for it.”
Conclusion
The Free SHS programme remains in place, and the outgoing and incoming administrations have expressed their commitment to its continuation. Therefore, the claim that Nana Akufo-Addo has cancelled the free SHS policy is false.
This report was produced under the DUBAWA “Combating Election Misinformation and Disinformation in Ghana’s 2024 Elections” Project aimed at promoting a culture of truth and verification ahead of the 2024 General Elections with support from the Federal Republic of Germany in Ghana.
