Tamale North Member of Parliament Alhassan Suhuyini has said that the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Former President John Dramani Mahama will run a lean government, reduce expenditures, and cut down on waste in the system to raise money to fund the ‘no academic fees for level 100 students’.
He agreed with concerns that the GETFund, which the NDC says it will rely on to fund the initiative, is facing challenges under the current Akufo-Addo administration.
But he assured that the NDC administration would find other ways including cutting waste and tackling corruption to fund the initiative.
“I agree that the GETFund is facing challenges, there is so much waste in the system which is why John Mahama says he is willing to reduce the waste, cut down on government expenditure, and tackle corruption,” he said on the Big Issue on TV3 Tuesday, August 13.
Prior to his comment, a lecturer at the University of Cape Coast (UCC), Dr Jonathan Asante Otchere had said when the National Democratic Congress (NDC) reduces wasteful expenditure if they form the next government and also tackles corruption, they should be in a position to implement the ‘No academic fees for level 100 students’ initiative.
For him, once there is a will, there will be a way out for the implementation of this initiative.
Dr Asante Otchere further stated that proper feasibility studies will make it easier for the NDC to implement the initiative.
“When there is a will there will always be a way…if they do proper feasibility studies they should be able to implement it.
“If you reduce waste, ensure corruption is dealt with then definitely you will be able to do it,” he said on the Big Issue on TV3 on Tuesday, August 13.
Dr Asante Otchere further stated that relying on the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) to finance the proposed ‘no academic fees for level 100 students’ at the universities can create problems because the GETFund is currently facing challenges.
He stated that the GETFund has been leveraged for loans by the current government thereby making it difficult to rely on it to fund other projects.
“GETFund in itself has huge problems, we have leveraged it as part of huge loans this government has taken so it is difficult but if there is a change they should be able to do it,” he said.
The Youth Manifesto launched by the National Democratic Congress has many promises.
One that seems to resonate with the target audience most is the “No Fee Stress Initiative”.
Details of this policy are, however, not certain as two documents that were read at the same event had varying explanations on what prospective level 100 students stand to benefit.
It added, “Redeploy the Student Loan Trust Fund Plus (SLTF Plus) to give continuing students the option to utilise students’ loans to finance directly their university fees to guarantee the peace of mind of the student to study”
However, in his 7-paged speech former president John Mahama, who launched the document stated, “We will also launch the ‘No Fee Stress Initiative,’ providing fee-paying support to eligible students through the Student Loan Trust Fund (STLF).
Undoubtedly, the ‘No Fee Stress Initiative’ is such great news, thus some observers have questioned why the flagbearer of the NDC chose to be economical with his speech on that financially relieving announcement.
They expected that John Mahama would tout this novelty in tertiary education funding. The critics say his explanation of the “No Fee Stress Initiative,” as contained in his speech, is not different from offering loans to tertiary students, a policy that is already in existence.
Those who seem to appreciate his approach say once the details have been captured in the manifesto, there was no need for Mr Mahama to spend time explaining further.
Yet, others have said that the seeming unclarity will be cleared when the larger NDC Manifesto is out doored.
Still, some say it will serve the party’s interest to put paid to this discussion by issuing a press release tomorrow morning to state the policy proposal without any ambiguity.
Until then, the question is, will level 100 students enjoy ‘No Academic Fees’ policy under a John Mahama government in 2025?
Watch John Mahama delivering his speech here:
Source:3news.com