Deputy Ranking Member on the Education Committee in Parliament, Dr. Clement Apaak is criticizing the New Patriotic Party (NPP), flag bearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia over a campaign advert that claimed the Free Senior High School policy had yielded over five million beneficiaries.
Citing data produced by Fact-Check Ghana, a project by the Media Foundation for West Africa, Dr. Apaak who also speaks for the John Mahama Campaign on education-related matters noted that the advertisement was “concocted” and urged the Vice-President to take it down and render an apology to Ghanaians.
“DMB [Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia] must immediately pull down his fraudulent advert, claiming that over 5 million students have benefited from FSHS from 2017-2024. How can the number of FSHS beneficiaries be more than the number enrolled? Such blatant lies must be roundly condemned,” he disclosed in a brief statement.
Figures released by FactCheck Ghana indicate that about 3.1 million students had benefited from the Free SHS program, well below the figure quoted in the advertisement widely circulated on the airwaves.
Dr. Apaak further argued that if the fact-check outfit had used data reported by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) when the students registered for the West African Senior School Examination (WASSCE), the figure would have significantly drop.
He reasoned that “not all students who enrol go on to complete by registering and writing WASSCE”.
The lawmaker who serves the people of Builsa Constitiency in Parliament urged the Vice-President to pull his “deceitful advert” following the fact-check.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Mitchell Asare Amoamah
