Veep outlines Education Policy Proposal to CHASS

The Vice Presi­dent and Presi­dential Candidate for the New Patri­otic Party (NPP), Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has presented his vision for the education sector at the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) in Accra yesterday aim to garner support from adminis­trators of Senior High Schools.

Dr Bawumia highlighted the significance of the meeting as an avenue to engage with a crucial stakeholder in the education sector.

He emphasised that under his administration, there would be a concerted effort to harness the private sector and implement an enhanced credit system to bolster educational infrastructure and provide the necessary support for both teaching and non-teaching staff, ultimately aiming to elevate the quality of education and im­prove educational outcomes.

“My vision is to leverage the private sector and an enhanced credit system to expand educa­tional infrastructure and support teaching and non-teaching staff to improve the quality of educa­tion and educational outcomes,” the Vice President intimated.

Dr Bawumia elaborated on the strategy, emphasising that the private sector would be incen­tivised to construct essential infrastructure, such as dormito­ries and classrooms, which would then be leased to the government for a defined period, eventually becoming government-owned assets. Additionally, the govern­ment would facilitate the leasing of buses for schools.

The Vice President highlighted that this innovative financing approach would address the chal­lenges, particularly the substantial initial government expenditures of high initial costs and project delays in high school infrastruc­ture due to delayed funding.

“Under my proposal which I mentioned during my February 7th speech at UPSA, the private sector will be encouraged to build infrastructure (such as dor­mitories, classrooms, etc.) which the government will rent over a period of years and own after a period of time. Government will also lease buses for schools.

This new mode of financing will avoid huge initial govern­ment outlays (through the GET­FUND) and delays in the com­pletion of infrastructure projects in our senior high schools,” the Vice President reiterated.

Meanwhile, the Vice President acknowledged the valuable input from the executives of CHASS, recognising their contributions towards enhancing the Free Senior High School Policy and addressing broader educational issues.

 BY TIMES REPORTER