By:Leticia Osei

President John Dramani Mahama has criticized former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for failing to provide textbooks to students after introducing a new curriculum.

Speaking at the Jubilee Park in Tamale on Saturday, March 22, during his ‘thank you’ tour, President Mahama announced that his government has allocated GHC564.6 million for textbooks to improve learning for basic school children.

He added that Hon. Haruna Iddrisu is overseeing the implementation of this initiative, ensuring that textbooks are printed locally to boost the Ghanaian economy.

“If you will recall, the previous administration changed the curriculum, and, yet, refused to provide textbooks for our basic school students.

This no-textbook phenomenon will end this year. Your own son, Hon. Haruna Iddrisu [Education Minister] is responsible for implementing this. And he has assured us that these textbooks are going to be printed by Ghanaian printers so that the money stays here in Ghana,” he stated.

President Mahama also revealed that his administration has expanded the school feeding programme with increased funding to provide better meals for students.

Additionally, he announced that resources have been allocated to provide free sanitary pads for female students to support their education.

“We have allocated resources to provide free sanitary pads for our female students.”