Clement Apaak on NDC's proposal to scrap first-year tertiary fees

A member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Manifesto Committee on Education, Dr Clement Apaak, has defended the party’s proposal to scrap academic fees for all first-year students, saying the policy "has received overwhelming support" from key stakeholders.

He said all the stakeholders that the party had shared the policy proposal with had given them thumps up and that unlike the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) that introduced the free Senior High School policy without any broader stakeholder consultation and review, the opposition NDC had engaged extensively on the proposed policy and would subject it to further review.

For him, the rationale for the said policy proposal was to help remove the financial stress on first-year tertiary students, adding that the party would find the needed resources to finance the policy.

During the NDC youth manifesto launch in Accra on Monday [August 12, 2024], the party’s flag bearer, John Dramani Mahama, promised to scrap the fees for all first-year tertiary students in the country.

The policy, he noted, would go a long way to support struggling students.

Giving further details on the policy on Accra-based Citi FM on Tuesday [August 13, 2024], Dr Apaak, who is also the Member of Parliament for the Builsa South Constituency, said the policy would not discriminate against any student.

For him, the gap between the number of WASSCE graduates and those who advance to tertiary education is often due to financial constraints.