Ghana Education News | Why must Colleges of Education GHC6.8m free Wi-Fi bill? Minority quiz gov’t.
As a result of an order from the Education Minister to 46 colleges of education to pay GHc6.8m for wifi service, the minority has raised concerns in parliament.
The call was first made about three months ago for Colleges of Education to fund the Wifi service which government was providing for free.
Dr Yaw Adutwum, the Minister of Education, urged the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission to enable the payment to Busy Internet by the various colleges following a review of the contract for providing internet connection to pre-tertiary schools in a letter released to the media.
A free wifi service has overloaded funds for the free SHS, according to the ministry of education.
According to Dr. Clement Apaak, a deputy ranking member of the education committee of the parliament, the order has no basis and the call by the government through the education ministry is out of place.
According to him, the Colleges qualify to enjoy free Wifi. He could not come to terms with the decision by the government to convert a free service to public educational institutions into one that has to be paid for.
Why must Colleges of Education GHC6.8m free Wi-Fi bill?
He wrote, “…clearly, the colleges of education are included in public educational institutions identified to enjoy free wifi as promised b the Akufo Addo-Bawumia NPP government.”
“So why have these institutions been asked to pay for the installation and the use of wifi services they have not used. Where does the government expect the colleges of education to get the money from to pay for a free service they never used. Will students be billed for a free wifi service that they have not used?”
He went on to ask “why should colleges of education and likely students be billed to pay for free wifi which is not functioning going forward? Given the narrative, why should the government not be held liable and accountable instead of the colleges and likely the students?”
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Dr Apaak insisted that “providing free wifi to public senior secondary schools and universities and asking public colleges of education to pay for same wifi which they have sadly not used, raises many questions.”
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“I restate the forty-six colleges of education do not owe Busy Internet GHC6,824,000 and ought not to pay for promised free wifi service which has never functioned. I intend to pursue this in addition to asking for accountability with regards to the policy to provide free wifi service to public educational institutions.”