The flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, has criticised the government’s decision to allocate funds for free tablets to senior high school students, labelling it as a strategic move to secure votes.
During a special public lecture at Wisconsin International University College in Accra, John Mahama voiced his concerns, highlighting the government’s neglect of essential ongoing educational projects to focus on tablet distribution.
The former president emphasised the importance of directing state resources towards addressing more urgent needs within the education sector.
“You bring a new curriculum, the children have [had] no textbooks in basic schools for the last four years, and you think that giving pre-tertiary students tablets is more important. Of course, everybody knows the political expediency,” he said in a report by citinewsroom.com.
Mahama also expressed skepticism regarding the timing of the tablet distribution, suggesting it is an attempt to sway the votes of pre-tertiary students who will soon be eligible to vote.
“The pre-tertiary students are going to register in May because some of them will be turning 18 years and above; some are 18 already, and they are going to be the ones voting. So, this is a gift to entice them to vote for the current government,” he stated.
Mahama criticized the allocation of GH¢1.3 billion for providing laptops to pre-tertiary students, arguing that other urgent issues within the educational system need attention.
“Otherwise, if you are using GH¢1.3 billion to give pre-tertiary students laptops, our priority would have been different. Other things are begging for funding in our educational system than those laptops. But it is a bribe for them to vote for this government,” he reiterated.
