The minority in parliament has raised red flags over a directive from the education minister to forty-six colleges of education to pay GHc6.8m for wifi service.
In a leaked letter, the minister Dr Yaw Adutwum asked the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission to facilitate the payment to Busy Internet following a review of the contract for the provision of internet service to pre-tertiary schools.
The minister said this has become necessary since the free wifi service has overburdened funding for the free SHS.
But in an article deputy ranking member on the education committee of parliament, Dr Clement Apaak said there is no justification for the directive.
He wrote, “…clearly, the colleges of education are included in public educational institutions identified to enjoy free wifi as promised b the Akufo Addo-Bawumia NPP government.”
“So why have these institutions been asked to pay for the installation and the use of wifi services they have not used. Where does the government expect the colleges of education to get the money from to pay for a free service they never used. Will students be billed for a free wifi service that they have not used?”
He went on to ask “why should colleges of education and likely students be billed to pay for free wifi which is not functioning going forward? Given the narrative, why should the government not be held liable and accountable instead of the colleges and likely the students?”
Dr Apaak insisted that “providing free wifi to public senior secondary schools and universities and asking public colleges of education to pay for same wifi which they have sadly not used, raises many questions.”
“I restate the forty-six colleges of education do not owe Busy Internet GHC6,824,000 and ought not to pay for promised free wifi service which has never functioned. I intend to pursue this in addition to asking for accountability with regards to the policy to provide free wifi service to public educational institutions.”