Free SHS: ‘For those who don’t understand English, review does not mean cancellation’ – Mahama mocks NPP

Speaking at the swearing-in ceremony of his ministerial and deputy ministerial appointees at the Jubilee House on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, President Mahama stated that his government’s budget allocation for Free SHS proves, once and for all, that he has no intention of scrapping the policy.

“We’ve also proven through the budget statement that review does not mean cancel. Once and for all, for those who don’t understand English, review does not mean cancel,” he said.

The president emphasised that his government has allocated the largest amount of funding to the Free SHS programme since its inception in 2017.

He explained that this was made possible by uncapping the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), which he described as a solution to the programme’s funding challenges.

“We have finally found a remedy for the long-standing issue of inadequate funding for Free SHS.

“By uncapping GETFund, we have freed up resources to provide the largest-ever allocation to the Free SHS programme—GH¢3.5 billion—since its launch in 2017,” he said.

In the lead-up to the 2024 elections, key figures in the NPP claimed that Mahama’s pledge to review Free SHS was merely a disguise for cancelling it.

Former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo strongly urged Ghanaians to reject Mahama, warning that he would abolish the policy.

“We have a political leader [Mahama] whose approach to policy is reviewing and cancelling. Reviewing policy is not a policy, and cancelling policy is not a policy.

“A policy is a clear, positive statement of what you intend to do not what you plan to cancel or review.

“The Free SHS policy has been consistent from the start, and you know that if you make the mistake of giving him power, he will cancel it. Are we prepared to see Free SHS cancelled in Ghana?” he declared at the NPP’s final rally at the University of Ghana Sports Park on December 5, 2024.