John Dramani Mahama, the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has criticized the government’s decision to allocate funds to provide free tablets to senior high school students, denouncing it as a tactic aimed at garnering votes.
Addressing his concerns during a special public lecture at the Wisconsin International University College, Ghana, Mahama underscored the neglect of essential ongoing educational projects due to the government’s focus on distributing tablets.
The former President stressed the importance of prioritizing the allocation of state resources to address more pressing needs within the education sector.
“You bring a new curriculum, the children have no textbooks in basic school for the last four years and you think that giving pre-tertiary students tablets is more important. Of course, everybody knows the political expediency.
“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.
“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.”