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Former President John Dramani Mahama, Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has described as a misplaced priority Government’s decision to distribute some 1.3 million tablets to pre-tertiary students across the country.

Government, in March this year, commenced the distribution of some 1.3 million tablets, estimated at a cost of GH¢337m, to all pre-tertiary students across the country.

The initiative, which is under the Smart School Project, the Government said, was in furtherance of its digitalisation agenda.

Speaking at a public lecture organised by the School of Communication Studies of the Wisconsin International University College in Accra, the former President said such initiatives were misplaced,  indicating that there were many projects in the education sector, which required urgent funding to enhance the teaching and learning in schools.

For instance, he questioned why the government would purchase tablets for students when schools were still without textbooks years after a new curriculum was approved for basic schools, capitation grants in arrears and many school infrastructure project stalled due to funding?

The former President labelled the intervention as a “bribe” which was meant to secure the votes of the students in the upcoming December elections.

“Of course, everybody knows the political expediency. The pre-tertiary students are going to register in May because some of them will becoming 18 years and above, some are 18 already and are going to be the ones voting. So, this is a gift to entice them to vote for the government, otherwise, if you are using 1.3 billion Cedis to give pre-tertiary students tablets, our priority would have been different.

“There are other things begging for funding in our educational system than those tablets, but it is a bribe for them to vote for this government,” he said.

Outlining his vision for the education sector if voted into power come December 7, Mr Mahama said his next government would strengthen basic level education to provide strong foundational learning opportunities to pupils. 

“The next NDC government will invest heavily in the construction and renovation of schools with particular focus on underserved and rural areas,” he said. 

“We’ll continue our programme to remove schools under trees and provide furniture for children at the basic level.”

The Flagbearer also indicated that his next government would continue and finish all abandoned E-Block schools while constructing new ones at highly populated urban areas to expand access.

Additionally, he said, community schools (E-Blocks) that had been built in rural areas with wide catchment area, would have dormitories attached to them to provide accommodation for non-resident students.

On the Free Senior High School Programme, the former President promised to review the policy, stressing that a national stakeholder dialogue would be held in the first 100 days of assuming office to see how best it could be fine-tuned.

“We are committed to abolishing the double track system as soon as possible,” he added.

On Science, Technology,  Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education, the former President said the next NDC government would mainstream it into the country’s education system to ensure it achieved a holistic goal.

“We don’t believe in standalone STEM secondary schools like this administration is building. We believe that to get a holistic training, all-round training, even if you’re studying the humanities, you need some science education and some mathematics and technical education. 

“And so rather than do standalone STEM secondary schools, we’re going to rehabilitate all the old science resource centres and create them into STEM centres so that all the secondary schools will have access to STEM learning instead of a few privileged secondary schools” he said.

Again, the former President indicated that the next NDC government intended to construct six new universities, one in each of the six newly created regions of Savannah, Oti, Ahafo, Bono East, North East and Western North, to enhance accessibility of tertiary education across the country and bridge the gap between the new regions and the old ones.

“We’re also committed to providing scholarships and financial assistance through the scholarship scheme and this will not be on protocol basis to children of favoured politically exposed persons. 

“We also intend to enhance the student loan scheme to provide proper, sufficient loans to students to be able to finance their education and they are only enjoined to pay back when they have been formally employed. This is going to be administered in collaboration with the banking and financial sectors,” he said.