Lawyer George Opare-Addo
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) is under fire after its National Youth Organizer, George Opare-Addo, made the stunning admission that students at the country’s ten Technical Universities will be left out of the party’s No Free Stress policy.
The eyebrow-raising statement came during a phone interview on JoyFM’s Super Morning Show, where Opare-Addo nonchalantly excluded these institutions from the NDC’s much-hyped plan to ease the financial strain on university students.
When asked if Technical Universities are included in their No Fee Stress plan, he responded by saying that, for now, they are not part of it.
What’s shocking is that Opare-Addo seems to have conveniently forgotten his own party’s role in elevating these polytechnics to Technical Universities back in 2014—a move that was supposed to be a game-changer for technical education in Ghana.
The NDC, in 2012, proudly announced a policy to convert all ten polytechnics into Technical Universities, giving them the authority to award Bachelor of Technology degrees and address the chronic challenges facing technical education in the country.
These institutions are state-owned, so it’s baffling that they would be excluded from a policy designed to benefit public universities. Critics are now questioning whether Opare-Addo has even bothered to consider the legal implications of his statement. After all, the 1992 Constitution, the Technical Universities Act, of 2016 (Act 922), and the National Council for Tertiary Education Act, of 1993 (Act 454) all recognize Technical Universities as public institutions.
The reaction has been swift, with many accusing the NDC of sending mixed messages. How can a party that promises to establish TVET facilities in all 16 regions turn around and disregard Technical Universities when it comes to free fees? The contradiction has left students, educators, and even political allies scratching their heads in disbelief.
The Hawk newspaper has now called on Opare-Addo to educate himself on the definition of public universities and issue a formal apology to the students of Technical Universities. As the backlash grows, many are left wondering how the NDC will rectify this glaring oversight and reassure voters that they genuinely care about the future of technical education in Ghana.
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