{"id":100612,"date":"2025-10-28T03:50:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-28T03:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=100612"},"modified":"2025-10-28T03:50:00","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T03:50:00","slug":"but-for-paa-kwesi-nduoms-bursary-i-wouldnt-have-completed-shs-afenyo-markin-reveals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=100612","title":{"rendered":"But for Paa Kwesi Nduom\u2019s bursary, I wouldn\u2019t have completed SHS \u2013 Afenyo-Markin reveals"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>2 Minute, 24 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>
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Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has shared a deeply personal story about how businessman and politician, Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom, helped him complete secondary school through a bursary.<\/p>\n

Speaking on JoyNews\u2019 PM Express<\/em> on October 27, the Effutu MP revealed that financial hardship nearly forced him to drop out of St. Augustine\u2019s College in his final year, but Dr Nduom\u2019s scholarship intervention changed the course of his life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always say that, but for Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom\u2019s bursary, I sitting here wouldn\u2019t have completed SHS in Saint Augustine\u2019s final year,\u201d he recounted. <\/p>\n

\u201cBy the way, the parents of my friends supported my fees in year one and year two, but by year three, things were bad. My mom was out of work. My stepdad had been demoted. He was at Pomaze Poultry, and they were not being paid.\u201d<\/p>\n

He described how his stepfather\u2019s political demotion worsened the family\u2019s financial situation. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe got demoted because of politics. They said he had followed Kufuor in the 1996 election. So he was demoted and transferred, made a watchman from a missing foreman, and sent to anchor food. Pomaze Poultry business was going down, so they were not being paid,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The MP recalled how Dr Nduom introduced a competitive bursary scheme that rewarded academic excellence. <\/p>\n

\u201cDr Nduom brought his bursary and said anybody who broke his record should get that bursary. It was a competition. It wasn\u2019t even for a brilliant but poor child. And by the grace of God, I won it. I\u2019m saying that, but for that, I would have dropped out of St. Augustine\u2019s College,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n

Afenyo-Markin used the story to underscore his strong defence of the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) policy, describing it as one of Ghana\u2019s most impactful social interventions. <\/p>\n

\u201cMany people today, when you look for house helps or gardeners in your home, they will tell you they have completed SHS. It wasn\u2019t the case before. Many homes, poor and rich, have benefited,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He also rejected criticisms of the Free SHS program, arguing that education is a powerful equaliser. <\/p>\n

\u201cOurs is to create a platform to build the human resource capacity of the Ghanaian people. We did that successfully,\u201d he insisted.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on his party\u2019s governance, Afenyo-Markin acknowledged challenges faced by the New Patriotic Party, including the economic shocks of COVID-19 and the loss of support among the middle class. <\/p>\n

However, he maintained that the NPP\u2019s social intervention record remains unmatched.<\/p>\n

He cited the Free SHS, One District One Factory, school feeding, and the National Health Insurance Scheme as initiatives that changed lives and strengthened the economy. <\/p>\n

\u201cTell us your NDC party a single social intervention program that, since 1992, has been initiated and implemented successfully. They have zero,\u201d he challenged.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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