Flagbearer hopeful of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum has pledged to introduce free university education if elected by party delegates and subsequently by Ghanaians as President.
According to the former Education Minister, the policy is attainable, especially when Ghana has successfully implemented the Free Senior High School (SHS) programme, an initiative he described as even more expensive due to the additional cost of feeding students.
“If we can provide free education at the secondary level, where students are fed, why can’t we extend it to the tertiary level where students only pay academic fees?” he asked.
Addressing delegates at Effiduase as part of his Ashanti Regional campaign tour, Dr Adutwum said extending free education to the tertiary level would be a major priority under his administration.
He insisted that the NPP, having pioneered the Free SHS programme, must take the next bold step to make education fully accessible to all.
He noted that many beneficiaries of the Free SHS policy risk being unable to continue to university due to financial constraints, stressing the need for policy continuity to protect the country’s investment in second-cycle education.
Dr Adutwum further argued that failure by the NPP to introduce such an intervention could push young people towards the National Democratic Congress, which is currently paying first-year fees for students in public universities.
“As the party that boldly implemented Free SHS, a policy others doubted, we must again lead the way by committing more resources to build the human capital of this country,” he stated.
He explained that his passion for free university education was rooted in his personal experience of growing up in poverty as the son of a cocoa farmer.
These struggles, he said, shaped his commitment to champion pro-poor policies that could uplift vulnerable families.
“I am seeking your support to lead this country to implement bold, people-centred policies that will lift households out of poverty and drive sustainable development,” he told the delegates.
Dr Adutwum also revealed a set of welfare initiatives he intended to introduce to improve the livelihoods of party grassroots should he become the flagbearer and eventually President.
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