President Akufo-Addo, Dr Bawumia and Kennedy Agyapong’s claim 5.7 million students have benefitted from Free SHS policy false 

At the final rally of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) on December 5, President Akufo-Addo, Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia and Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong, repeated claims that 5.7 million students benefited from the government’s flagship Free Senior High School (SHS) programme.

The claim has previously been debunked by the Fact-check Ghana.

Claim: Akufo-Addo, Bawumia and Kennedy Agyapong has repeated the claim that 5.7 million people benefitted from Free SHS during the NPP’s final rally.

Verdict: False

Explanation: According to data from the mid-year review budget statements presented by the Ministry of Finance over the years, the total beneficiaries of the Free SHS policy from 2017 to 2024 are 3,135,754. This figure is 2,564,246 lower than the 5.7 million President Akufo-Addo, Dr Bawumia, and  NPP forerunner Kennedy Agyapong mentioned. Below is a table representation of the data.