Ashanti Region: Involving students in Bawumia’s tour shameful – NDC slams Adutwum

The National Democratic Congress in the Ashanti Region has criticised the Education Minister and officials of the Ghana Education Service for allowing students to abandon their school environment for a political event during the just-ended tour by the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia in the Region.

The party is asking parents to stand up and speak against the involvement of their wards in political activities at the expense of their education.

Some Senior High School students were brought by their various school authorities to the Kumasi Jubilee Park to attend a Youth Connect event when Dr Bawumia visited the Ashanti region.

The NDC has condemned the move and insisted the Education Minister cannot be absolved from blame.

Deputy Ashanti Regional Secretary of the National Democratic Congress, Baah Acheamfour speaking at a news conference in Kumasi said the NPP used the students to cover its sinking popularity in the Ashanti Region.

“One major feature of Dr Mahamudu Bawumia’s tour was the bussing of students from various senior high schools to the Youth Connect programme at the Jubilee Park to create a crowd effect to show Bawumia’s sinking popularity in his own political stronghold.

“We find this development very worrying because it shows the desperate lengths the NPP is prepared to go to just to create an illusion of popularity. The law of the land does not allow partisan politics in our senior high schools.

“And so for the headmasters of these institutions to have released SHS students, some of whom are minors, to participate in this particular activity, at the time they are supposed to be in school is a cause to worry. And we all know that these students are preparing to write their WASSCE two or three months ahead of us.

“This indicates how low they are prepared to go to please their NPP collaborators. What is even more shocking is that all this happened right under the nose of the Minister of Education, Yaw Adutwum.”

“It is a shame that somebody like Dr. Yaw Adutwum who was brought in to introduce international best practices in our education sector will be the same person who is destroying our senior high schools with partisan politicisation.

“We are calling on parents to join forces with us to demand answers from CHASS and GES for exposing these wards to this needless political danger when school is supposed to be in session.”

The NDC has also accused Dr Bawumia of neglecting the victims of the Kejetia Market traders after failing to fulfil a promise to reconstruct the burnt area.

“Somewhere last year when Kejetia market was gutted by fire, Dr Bawumia visited them and promised to reconstruct the affected area in the possible shortest time. We wish to use this medium to ask him if that portion of the market has been fixed or is one of his usual awful and void promises given to Ghanaians.”