Feature Article of Monday, 29 October 2012
Columnist: Tawiah, Francis
The municipal director of education and the Brong Ahafo Regional minister queried SHS headmaster because Nana Addo addressed his students after classes.
The headmaster of Techiman Senior High School, M.K. Boakye has been queried by the Brong Ahafo municipal director of education, Godfred Axolu for allowing the flag bearer of the NPP, Nana Akufo-Addo to address the students during his tour of the Brong-Ahafo Region.
After the NPP flag bearer had toured Techiman South constituency he met the students after the close of school to address them. The students, who received Nana in their numbers, gave him a very cordial welcome when he arrived on their campus. The flag bearer spoke seriously on the free SHS policy and appealed to the staff and students to give their votes to him to enhance the dream of making SHS education free, a big reality. He also stressed on his "First Teacher Policy", promising that when voted into power, his government would make sure teachers who have been in the system for 10 years are given a house at a place of their choice.
According to Nana Akufo-Addo, if countries like Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Uganda and Kenya could make SHS free for their citizens, he saw no difficulty or impossibility in the implementation of his free SHS education in a country like Ghana, which is blessed with cocoa, timber, diamond, gold, manganese, bauxite, oil among others. He also referred to the millions of Ghana Cedis which were dubiously paid out to people like Alfred Agbesi Woyome as judgment debts which could have been used socially and wisely to sponsor the free SHS.
Just a day after Nana's visit, the Municipal Director of education wrote to the headmaster asking him to explain why he should not be chastised for allowing Nana Akufo-Addo to address the students.
Some of the staff members of the school who heard about the (query) letter to the headmaster, threatened to lay down their chalks if the MDE sanctioned the headmaster. A tutor of the school said they were already aware the Municipal Director of Education was a staunch member of the NDC hence, his illogical querying the headmaster for allowing Nana Akufo-Addo to address the students.
Later investigations also revealed that it was the Brong-Ahafo Regional Minister, Kwadwo Nyamekye Marfo (NDC) who ordered the director to sanction the headmaster for allowing Nana Addo to address the students.
Are the politicians in Ghana turning DEMOCRACY to AUTOCRACY?
FRANCIS TAWIAH (Duisburg - Germany)