Deputy Education Minister-designate Dr. Clement Apaak has criticised former Education Minister Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum for finally conceding that the 5.7 million figure claimed by the previous government as beneficiaries of the free Senior School initiative was incorrect.
Dr. Apaak, who had in the past called out the previous administration and tagged the 5.7 million as a false figure, questioned why the former minister is now admitting to this error.
He chastised him for being one of the government officials that peddled falsehoods about the benefits of free SHS in order to achieve political office, but now that they have lost, he is recognising the mistake.
Former Education Minister, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, has admitted that only 3.5 million students have benefitted from Ghana’s Free Senior High School (Free SHS) policy since its inception and not the 5.7 million that the previous government told Ghanaians.
He made the admission while speaking on JoyNews’ AM Show on Friday, February 14, 2025.
“There was an error in the figures previously mentioned, and I take full responsibility for that. The correct number of beneficiaries stands at 3.5 million,” he disclosed.
Dr. Apaak, in his response, criticised the lawmaker, wondering why he and former President Akufo-Addo kept lying to Ghanaians about the figure when they knew it was false.
The Builsa South MP further slammed Dr. Adutwum and the former president for pushing the 5.7 million figure in the State of the Nation Address (SONA) in 2024 and the numerous adverts they designed and ran on TV and on radio with the false figure.
He is therefore demanding answers as to why the previous government inflated the beneficiaries of the policy.
Dr. Apaak also told the former minister that admitting to the error was not enough and that he must provide reasons and demonstrate how the error came about with evidence.
He wrote “Error? When did you become aware of this error? If it was an error, why did your government, your President and your Flagbearer continue pushing an error on various media platforms, at campaign events, in campaign adverts on TV/Radio, and at SONA 2024 in the face of our rejection of these inflated figures? What occasioned the error? Saying it was an error cannot be enough. You must demonstrate to us how the error came to be, with evidence.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
